The Maelstrom and the Snake
by EternalVoid
Summary: Naruto isn't who he appears to be, and Anko becomes his sensei, what next?
1. Chapter 1

The dense forest was deathly quiet; it was an odd lack of noise in a forest that had made its self known for the animals that lived here, amongst the tall and thick trees that made up training ground 44, the forest of death. 'Thunk', 'thunk', 'thunk' came the sound of the kunai hitting their targets, as a blonde and black blur jumped from tree to tree, his breathing deep but controlled as he leapt again, and struck out, landing a perfect hit on the target with the kunai he had just thrown. He stopped on a tree branch, panting slightly, he sighed and tilted his head back, letting the warm sunlight and soft breeze wash over him, he smiled serenely and sniffed, the air carried on it a scent of the forest and the clean and pure air that surrounded him in a comforting blanket, sheltering him from the worries and pains of the world outside of this moment.

He had no idea how long he must of lain there when he heard the sound of someone approaching and he thanked the heavens that Kyuubi had granted him increased senses that night years ago, otherwise he may of been caught unaware as a kunai flew past him and imbedded itself into the tree he was sitting on, okay, now that just wasn't nice

"What the fuck you crazy bitch!?" Naruto shouted as a purple haired woman appeared facing him; she was scantily clad in a fishnet shirt and a trench coat along with a skirt that seemed to leave very little to the imagination

"Who you calling a crazy bitch!?" she shouted back, visibly angered and he sighed. Visibly calming himself he levelled a cold glare at her

"I was sitting there peacefully minding my own business and then you have the nerve to strike out and try to nail me with a kunai even though I was unaware of you being there" he hissed, having to fight back the rising urge to strike back out and decapitate the woman standing in front of him in the blink of an eye

"Yeah well, I didn't know if you were an enemy or not, I mean, it's not like people come to this place often" she replied to his statement, earning her a raised eyebrow in response from Naruto

"I know" he replied "that's why I come here to train" he explained and her eyes softened slightly in understanding, but the mad gleam that she had earlier was still there, he sighed and sat back down on the branch he had been resting on, closing his eyes.

He could hear her trying to creep up on him so he snapped his eyes open and glared at her, releasing a small amount of killing intent

"back off, I'm tired and want to sleep, if you've got somewhere else to be then please go away" he said and closed his eyes again, he felt her move towards him and then sit beside him, he heard her sigh and without opening his eyes he began to talk

"My names Uzumaki Naruto, or 'the demon brat' if you prefer" he told her, this time it was her who raised an eyebrow as she had heard of him, and was surprised that he wasn't a hyperactive and cocky kid like some people said he was, and that he wasn't wearing orange

"Mitarashi Anko" Anko replied, wondering if this was the same person she thought it was

"You're probably wondering if I'm the same Naruto who pulled all of those pranks, the answers yes, I am him, but like you I live behind a mask" he said, opening his eyes and looking at her as he said that last bit, earning him a slightly startled look as he had seen past her fake persona so quickly

"look gaki" Anko said, her confidence returning to her quickly as she got over her shock "I don't know where you get this shit from, but I've got to go" she said as she got up and jumped away, outside she looked calm but in reality she was fairly shaken that a kid could see past her mask with so little difficulty

"Damn it" she hissed as she continued to her home.

Naruto watched her go with a slight scowl on his face, she was like him, he wasn't stupid, and he could see the pain that existed in her heart and refused to be let out. He sighed, he still had training to do, after all, his new 'sensei' didn't teach them fuck all, and Naruto was consistently having to hold back to stop himself from simply jumping in and snapping the jonins neck like a twig, after all, the last thing he needed was the council getting a reason to kill him. He stood up on the branch and jumped down, he needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night.

*next day*

The next day Anko was shocked to find the blonde kid still there in her forest, and not only that, it appeared as though he had camped out here yesterday if the blackened patch of ground was any indicator, she sat up in one of the tall trees watching him as he trained, then he stopped and stepped back, she paused in eating her favourite snack, dango, and watched as the boy growled and she stared in shock as a strong wind began to flow around him

"_Kaze gijutsu : kuuki yashi_" (wind technique: air palm) he called out and Anko watched, the shock and amazement building as suddenly air seemed to be gathering in his palm, he shouted and slammed both of his palms into the tree in front of him and Anko watched as a large portion of the tree was suddenly blown apart from the force of the strike and the air combined

"Are you going to sit up there all day eating dango, or are you going to come down here and give me something to work out my frustration on?" Naruto asked, his voice slightly deeper than usual thanks to the rather heavy workout

"You wouldn't stand a chance against me, gaki" Anko stated confidently, only to suddenly realise he wasn't in front of her anymore and felt the cold steel of a kunai blade against her neck as a voice behind her spoke

"You were saying?" and before she could turn around he disappeared again and reappeared where he was before

"You're on gaki" Anko growled and, putting her dango on the branch, jumped down to face Naruto who cracked his neck and sighed before settling into a stance that faintly resembled the Hyuga clans fighting stance, Anko raised an eyebrow before attacking him.

To say she was surprised would be an understatement, she was gobsmacked when he easily blocked and/or dodged her punches and she grew more irate by the minute until she eventually pulled back

"_Sen'eijashu_" (shadow snake hands) she called and smirked as snakes came flying out of her sleeves towards Naruto who jumped back before forming some hand seals

"_Kaze no Yaiba_" (blade of wind) he called and in an instant his right hand was coated with wind as a blade formed as he dived at Anko as he sliced the snakes to pieces before appearing in front of Anko, delivering an air palm straight to her chest, sending her back twenty feet and into a tree, Anko stood up, abate shakily, and glared at him, he simply stared calmly back and got back into his air palm stance and motioned to her to attack him. She roared and attacked, now no longer holding back, she smirked as she realised he was now being forced to block and not dodge all of her attacks unlike previously, she smirked as she struck out and landed a vicious right hook to his face that sent him skidding back a couple of feet, he lifted himself up and looked at her, the air in his palms grew in size and intensity and he smirked

"kai" he muttered and thrust his hands in her direction and she gasped as the wind in his palms suddenly shot out like a bullet and struck her sending her back into another tree before she could even blink

"I win" he stated soundly, walking over to where Anko lay and began healing her.

Anko awoke a few minutes later and sat up, she winced a bit as a small bit of pain shot through her chest where she'd been hit by the technique of Naruto's, she then looked around the small clearing where they'd been fighting only to realise he was no longer there, she sighed and stood up, wincing at the pain in her left leg but ignoring it as she jumped up to where her dango now sat, cold, as expected

"Hey, Anko!" an all too familiar voice called out and she turned to find Naruto jumping towards her with a carrier bag in his right hand, he landed next to her and sat down, patting the branch next to him, she sighed and grudgingly sat down beside him, she was scowling until he brought out a box that smelled of her favourite food in the entire universe

"Is that...?" she asked and he nodded, handing it to her, she grabbed it thanking him before digging in and letting out a satisfied groan that made Naruto smirk

"I knew you liked it, but come on" he said, grinning perversely at her, she caught onto the meaning after a few seconds and stuck her tongue at him who laughed at her childish behaviour before leaning back against the tree and digging in to his own food, miso beef ramen, he smiled as the familiar taste hit his taste buds.

They both sat there a while, just listening to the sounds of the forest around them as they enjoyed the meal he had gotten. He smiled suddenly and looked over to her, who looked back innocently

"I think we should get to know each other better" he said out of the blue and laughed as she chocked on the piece of dango she'd been eating, he smiled and patted her on the back, waiting for her to calm down  
"Better?" he asked and she nodded, felling a bit embarrassed from her reaction to the rather innocent question

"Now, I'll start" he said and cleared his throat and facing her "my name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen and training and my few precious people, I dislike people who can't look underneath the surface and past their own delusions, I also hate egotistical pricks and fan girls, my dream is to become strong, strong enough to live without fear of my loved ones getting hurt" he said and Anko nodded and sighed, leaning back a bit

"my name, as you know, is Mitarashi Anko, I like dango, training and torture" Naruto sweat dropped and chuckled softly at that, making her raise an eyebrow before continuing "I dislike snakes and people who can't see past their own delusions, my dream is to kill my _sensei_" she said, spitting out the name like it left a foal taste in her mouth, Naruto frowned and moved to her side, and put a hand on her shoulder, asking her with his eyes if she was okay, she looked at him and nodded and finished "and to hopefully..." she mumbled the last bit but Naruto only smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist which made her look up at him in shock

"I want to raise a family too" Naruto said looking up at the sky as Anko simply looked at him and sighed, before shrugging his arm off of her and stood up

"I better get going, don't want old Kure-chan getting worried because I didn't turn up" Anko said and Naruto nodded and smiled at her and she took off through the trees, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into now.

Anko arrived at her favourite dango place, she walked into the small shop and her nose was assaulted by the many different smells of all the different types of dango that were being made, she closed her eyes and breathed in the heavenly scent before looking around and spying her friend Kurenai sitting at a table staring out of the window waiting for her to arrive

"Oi, Kure-chan" Anko called out to her friend as she made her way over to the table and seated herself on the other side from her friend

"Hello, Anko-chan" Kurenai replied to her friend "how's it been going?" she asked politely as they both ordered their dango and waited for their food to arrive

"I've been good, speaking of which, I met someone really...nice yesterday" Anko said, and Kurenai looked at her with raised eyebrows, after all, when was the last time Anko said anyone was 'nice'?

"His names Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, I found him training in the forest yesterday, and then I met him again today and we sparred, he won" Anko said and laughed at her friends shocked face

"He beat you? How?" Kurenai asked, now even more intrigued about this boy that her friend had met

"He's really quick and knows some really cool techniques, he beat me fair and square" Anko replied as their order arrived and they started to eat

"He's a lot like me actually, Kure-chan" Anko mumbled after she finished and Kurenai waited for her long term friend to continue

"I mean...he's been through so much shit in his life, and yet he just walked through it like it was nothing and come out the other side all the stronger for it, I'm shocked Kure, he understands me so well its almost frightening" Anko told her friend who smiled at her

"Then he's a perfect friend isn't he, Anko, and if he really is as strong as you say then perhaps you should speak to the Hokage about him, from what I remember about Naruto, the Hokage's like a grandfather to the kid" Kurenai explained and watched as Anko's eyes brightened, she leaned over and kissed Kurenai on the cheek before shouting a 'thank you' and disappearing in a swirl of leaves, and Kurenai smiled and chuckled at her friends antics.

Anko appeared in the Hokage's office just as Sarutobi was finishing the last of his paperwork

"Hey old man" Anko said cheerfully, and the Hokage looked up and smiled at her

"Oh, hello Anko, what brings you here today?" the aging Hokage asked her, smiling kindly at her

"I need to speak to you about someone, one Uzumaki Naruto" she said and watched as the Hokage raised an eyebrow and sat back

"What's he done this time?" he asked, sounding as if he'd dealt with this a million times before, but Anko's smile didn't falter

"Apart from beating me in a friendly spar, nothing much" she said as casually as she could as the Hokage choked on his pipe, before breathing deeply and sighing

"okay then, what do you want to talk to me about?" he asked, trying not to notice as Anko fanned herself with her trench coat a bit, giving him a small flash of her left breast. She smiled as she saw the old man trying desperately not trying to look down at her rather developed chest

"I just want to know a few things, like who's his sensei, why is he still a genin, and just why is he camping out in the middle of my forest?" she asked and the Hokage looked at her

"To answer those in order, Kakashi, because he wants to be, and I don't know" the Hokage said

"What do you mean 'because he wants to be'?" she asked in confusion

"He doesn't want to take the test until he's sure the council won't try anything" the old man explained and Anko nodded before an idea hit her

"What if he becomes an 'unofficial jonin' like I was until I took the test" the Hokage just looked at her for a moment before smashing his head on his desk as Anko laughed long and hard

"Actually, I've got a better idea" Sarutobi said, grinning manically

"What?" Anko asked, although a bit apprehensively as the gleam in his eye made her nervous

"I could make him a jonin under your care" he said, the gleam not leaving his eyes for a moment

"Hey..." Anko tried to argue before the Hokage held up a hand

"Think about it, I could send you two on mission together, you'd have to be recognised as a full jonin by the council since your 'teaching' someone and Naruto could get a sensei that cares enough to give a damn" Sarutobi said and Anko went silent, weighing the pros and cons in her head, on one hand it would be annoying and possibly frustrating, but on the other hand, he was like her so they should get along fine, she liked him already, especially since he comforted her about her sensei which not may would be willing to do, given her reputation, he was at least her level in strength and he understood her like no one else did or could

"I'll do it" she said and Sarutobi grin turned into a full blown smile as he shook Anko's hand

"You'll have a few says to get to know your new 'student' and then you'll start some missions, simple ones at first, you understand?" he said and she nodded, grinning before disappearing, leaving the Hokage to fight with his age old and undefeatable adversary, paperwork.

Anko reappeared back inside the forest where she had left Naruto, she looked around and found him sitting high up towards the tops of one of the trees, looking up at the sky and towards the sun as it began to slowly sink beneath the horizon, turning the sky a golden orange as the sky began to slowly grow darker

"Hey gaki!" she called out as she waved up at him while walking up the tree towards him, he turned and waved back

"Hey Anko" he said as she finally reached him and sat on the same branch as him

"Guess what?" she said to him excitedly and he had to smile yet again at her childlike behaviour before shaking his head

"You're going to be my student!" she shouted, hugging him tightly to her ample bosom, but rather than passing out a she expected him to he hugged her back, they stood like that for a few more moments before pulling back

"You're going to be made an 'unofficial jounin' under my care" she explained and he nodded

"But why?" he asked and she looked at him strangely

"Why what?" she asked while tilting her head in an inquisitive manner

"Why are you helping me?" he asked and she looked down at her feet nervously

"Because, we're really alike, and even though we've only known each other for a few days, I-I already think of you as my friend" she mumbled, surprising herself, she wondered why she couldn't put up her mask around him and chalked it down to him being the same as her. Naruto smiled and hugged her again before sitting down on the branch he had been on and looked up at the setting sun

"You're my friend too, Anko" he said and she smiled at that, looking around nervously

"I better get going, don't want to be late tomorrow after all" she said and he nodded while smiling, giving her a little wave as she disappeared back to her apartment to get some sleep.

*next day*

Naruto was really _really_ getting annoyed with his _sensei_, I mean, the damned prick was always two hours late and then had the nerve to teach them _fuck all_.

Naruto was sitting in a tree, stewing over the fact that he had a dick had for a sensei when he suddenly felt someone approach him from below, he looked down to find Anko walking towards him with a smile on her face that he now mirrored

"Hey Naruto-kun" she called out and he raised and inquisitive eyebrow at the new suffix on his name

"Hey Anko-chan" he called back, earning him a smile as he leapt down from the tree he was in to sit down beside Anko as they began talking about things.

Both Sakura and Sasuke were confused at the new arrival and Narutos possible relationship with her, Sakura walked over first, wanting to find out who this person was Naruto was being so friendly to

"Ano...who are you?" Sakura said, interrupting the conversation just as Naruto was telling Anko about the time he dyed the Hokage's robes bright neon pink, needless to say that didn't settle well with the Tokubetsu Jonin who had been enjoying her time with Naruto when this pink haired banshee had made herself known

"I'm Anko" Anko replied sharply, irritating the pink haired girl

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked, and Anko shrugged and hugged Naruto to her

"Because I want to" she said in a innocent voice that made Naruto laugh at her antics even though he was trying desperately not to notice how nice those two soft mounds felt pressing against his arm

"Ima sugu (now now), Anko-chan, don't start a fight" Naruto said and Sakura glared at him, okay, now Anko didn't like her at all

"Shut up Naruto-baka" Sakura said sharply and Anko let go of Naruto to send a kunai whistling by Sakura's cheek, cutting her just enough so that blood came out and before Sakura had a chance to say anything Anko appeared behind her, licking the blood off of her cheek in a seductive and slightly sadistic manner that made Sakura shudder involuntarily

"That wasn't a very nice thing to say to Naruto-kun now, was it?" Anko asked as she ran her hands slowly up Sakura's arms, making Sakura gasp and Naruto smirk at how uncomfortable Sakura was getting. It was at that moment that Kakashi decided to arrive

"Yo" he said in his usual manner before noticing what was happening to Sakura and who was doing it  
"Anko, could you please refrain from traumatising my student" he said and Anko looked at him before slowly pulling away and sitting back down next to Naruto who simply rested back up against the tree

"Why are you here, Anko?" Kakashi asked, wondering why she was sitting so close to Naruto

"I'm here to tell you that you're a shitty teacher and that Naruto has now been given to me" Anko said, while looking extremely bored even while clutching Naruto possessively, making him sweat drop

"Under who's..." Kakashi started to say

"the Hokage" Anko replied before he could finish his question "Naruto will now be on a two man team, namely, me and him and will be given missions from C to B and possibly even A-rank" Anko said as the others of team seven, minus Naruto, looked at her in shock  
"you're kidding" Sakura mumbled and Anko shot her a glare that could melt solid steel

"No, I have tested him myself, he could probably kill Kakashi if he put his mind to it, and as such he has been granted 'unofficial jonin' status by the Hokage" Anko explained and looked over the shocked faces of team seven smiling with satisfaction at having burst their little bubble

"this is insane" Sasuke finally said "the dobe couldn't possibly be _that_ powerful, he was the dead last at the academy, always has been and always will be, there is no way your specking the truth" Sasuke said cockily before suddenly finding himself tied up with snakes along with a kunai pointing at something rather precious, and no, it wasn't his eyes.

"You really should teach your brats some manners, if you don't believe me then you can ask the Hokage, come on naru-kun" Anko said, he tone going from sadistic to happy in a moment as she grabbed hold of Narutos arm and disappeared in swirl of leaves, leaving a confused pink haired girl, and confused jonin and a furious Uchiha.

Anko and Naruto reappeared in the forest of death a few minutes later with them both appearing where they had been fighting the day before,

"Okay Naruto-kun, show me what you got" Anko growled as she got into her fighting stance, Naruto raised his eyebrows in confusion but settled into his own stance anyway, they both stayed like that for a few moments, the only sound being a light breeze that softly rustled the leaves around them, as soon as the breeze died down they struck, fists flying and legs kicking out.

They continued in this for a few minutes before Anko landed a sold punch to Narutos gut, and in her moment of triumph at actually being able to land a hit on him, she seemed to forget that he had hands as well and soon found herself on her back, a rather painful sensation on her face, she then noticed Naruto standing over her, looking quite please with himself

"You did quite well, but your style is not well suited against my own, yours relies on quick movements as does mine, but yours requires you to take out your enemies fairly quickly whereas mine, thanks to my stamina, is one where I wear the opponent down" Naruto said before helping her up and beginning to walk off

"Hey, where do you think you're going, gaki?" Anko called out to him, he only smiled and winked at her before vanishing in a swirl of leaves

"Damned gaki" Anko mumbled before she too disappeared.

The next day Kakashi arrived in the Hokage's office and waited patiently as the aging man filled his pipe and after drawing a long breath on it he turned to Kakashi

"What can I do for you today Kakashi-san?" he asked the silver haired jonin

"Sir, I would like to know why one of my students has been placed on a two man cell with Anko-san" Kakashi said, staring straight at the Hokage whose only response was to sigh and take a long drag from his pipe, he allowed the sweet smell of the tobacco to fill his lungs before turning back to the jonin in front of him

"He had been placed there for a number of reasons, one is that you have failed as a teacher, and I don't give a damn what the council say Kakashi, I will not have you disregarding your other students for a boy who is nothing more than a spoiled brat" the Hokage said earning himself a shocked expression from the usually laidback man "the second reason is that he is far stronger than your reports indicate and as such I have seen fit to place him at such a level, the third and final reason is because he would do far better under Anko's care rather than yours, dismissed" the Hokage said

"But sir-"the silver haired jonin tried to reason but the Hokage cut him off with a glare that could frighten the Kyuubi itself

"Dismissed" the Hokage said with an authority gained only through fighting countless battles and coming out the victor, Kakashi bowed stiffly before taking his leave from the room in a swirl of leaves. The Hokage sighed; today was not going to be a good day.

Meanwhile in the forest of death Anko was watching Naruto fight with a large number of his clones, he ducked and weaved in such a way that Anko couldn't take her eyes off of him, the way he danced and dodged his clones strikes was like a beautiful but deadly dance, then he started fighting back, and the speed and precision of his strikes startled her, he danced past strikes and delivered his own in what could only be described as an awesome show of skill, speed and power. A few moments later and the last of his clones dispersed

"Damn" he muttered to himself and she looked at him confused even though he couldn't see her

"Bit too sloppy on the last strike" he muttered to himself and turned around to see Anko looking at him with something akin to shock on her face

"Beautiful" she muttered to herself and Naruto laughed, bringing her out of her stupor, he walked up the tree and sat down beside her, swiping a stick of dango and eating it before she could even make a sound, he then sighed and sat back, looking up past the green canopy and into the sky, it was a bit more cloudy today that yesterday but the sun still shone through the partially transparent canopy and onto the ground where the shadows danced delicately against the ground and soft grass.

"What was that style? I've never seen it before" Anko asked Naruto who just smiled softly

"It's called fox style, and it's my own creation" he explained to her "it's based on the idea of just dodging and moving your opponents strikes so it requires little effort on the users part, although you are meant to strike out when you can" he said, smirking at the last part "it's also very fluid so it can be meshed with almost all the other styles that I've seen from what I know" he said as he closed his eyes, allowing his breathing to even out into a much more relaxed rhythm.

They both sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts, the warm breeze caressing their skin as they bathed in the soft warming glow of the sun as it looked down upon them

"Hey Anko" Naruto mumbled, being too relaxed to raise his voice above a soft whisper, Anko grunted in response "how do you think Kakashi's going to take the news" he asked with an amused smirk on his face and Anko chuckled a bit

"Not very well if I know that pervert" she answered and Naruto looked at her before turning to look back up

"I guess that answers one of my questions" he said and Anko turned to him with a confused look on her face and Naruto turned back to her "you don't like perverts" he stated and she laughed before laying down across his lap with her head looking up to his as he looked back into the sky

"Good thing you're not then" she said as she relaxed again

"I wish we could be like them" he finally said, Anko looked up at him confusedly, he looked back down and she almost gasped as she stared into his azure orbs, like an endless ocean, she felt like just looking and never stopping as they pulled her in further and further, "like the birds, so free and happy, never having to worry about a thing up there" he mumbled, his left hand beginning to softly stroke Anko's hair as he removed her hair band, Anko just sighed and relaxed again, surprised at just how safe and relaxed she felt with him, if it was anyone else stroking her hair like he was they would of suddenly found themselves without the ability to have children, she cut her thoughts off and decided to think on it later, she was far too relaxed to bother right now.

It was in this position that Kakashi found them in, Naruto hand his legs crossed and was leaning against the tree while he had his head back and looked to be sleeping, Anko had her head in Naruto's lap with his hand going through her hair at a leisurely pace and she looked to be asleep as well since she was curled up on the branch with her head turned to the left. Kakashi looked at the scene and, as usual, made a quick assumption and tried to sneak away to tell the Hokage or the council

"If you value your life Kakashi-san, you won't take another step" Naruto suddenly said, his eyes opening and looking at Kakashi, his eyes were cold and deadly serious, even with that his body language didn't change, he wasn't going to fight some bastard and disturb Anko, he'd only do it if he was forced to kill the man

"Oh, and why not, I'm sure the con-"he suddenly found a kunai pressed against his neck and a Naruto behind him

"You even _think_ about telling those bastards and I promise you pain like you've never felt" he growled while pressing the kunai even closer to Kakashi so that a small amount of blood trickled down the blade and onto the handle

"Naruto listen" Kakashi tried to reason with his once student

"No Kakashi _you _listen, I'm sick and tired of people like you making my life hell, you made a wrong assumption with what you saw, me and Anko are simply resting here like good friends, nothing more and nothing less, well, it's not the Hokage would actually care and anyway, I'm recognised as an adult, old enough to kill, old enough to drink and fuck" he growled and dispersed, the real Naruto hadn't moved an inch

"Get out of here Kakashi, if you ever come here again or approach me without a _very_ good reason I will deem you a threat and I will take your life, now get out of my sight" he said, the look on his face going from one of absolute seriousness to one of absolute disgust at the end "your very presence sickens me" he growled and Kakashi growled himself, slowly pulling out a kunai only to have a kunai go whizzing by his wrist, he looked to find Anko yawning and stretching

"Go Kakashi" she said and Kakashi disappeared. She stretched and settled back onto her pillow

"Your comfy" she said in a child like voice and Naruto laughed

"Glad I could be of service" he joked and they both shared a laugh.

The next few days passed in much the same way, Naruto and Anko would train together before simply relaxing or hanging out either within the forest or in town.

It was a few days after the 'Kakashi incident' that Naruto found himself training alone in the forest, wondering where the hell Anko could be, he shrugged it off and struck another clone before spinning on his heel and ducking a strike from behind and punching the clone in the gut, making it disperse in a cloud of smoke. He remembered hearing that team seven had got a new member called Sai, Naruto knew something was off with that kid, he was all fake and had no light in his eyes, Naruto suspected that he came from Danso's ROOT division, but without proof there was nothing he could do. He shrugged it off as well, it was likely that he was there to protect the helpless Uchiha and possibly report how useful he could be to Danso's plans.

Naruto finished off the last of his clones and stood there panting, he'd been wearing weights recently, it made him slightly slower than his clones, so he had to be much more cautious and was forced to react to muscle movements more than anything to be able to dodge the blows effectively, and it was working, much to his delight.

He walked over to a tree and sat down, he suddenly heard the sound of a kunai cutting through the air and moved his head to the left ever so slightly so that the kunai buried itself into the trunk of the tree he was resting against, he sniffed the air and smiled

"Hey Anko" he called out to the snake women on the branch above him, she groaned

"how do you do that?" she asked, it had become a little game of hers, she kept on trying to catch Naruto off guard but was never able to do it, a warm breath by her ear distracted her

"Because I can smell you" he whispered in her ear making her shiver, their playful flirting was a game they both enjoyed, she leaned back and he gently held her

"And what do I smell of?" she asked, her hand slowly moving towards her kunai pouch

"Sin" he said and disappeared just as she tried to slash him, she glared at him before pouting like a kicked puppy making him laugh

"Come on Anko, why were you late?" he asked, beckoning her to join him in resting against the tree, she jumped down and sat down beside him

"Well...." she said, trying to draw out the suspense, "we've got our first mission!" she shouted excitedly and glomped him

"And?" he asked, not really getting why she was so excited, aside from the fact she was slightly sadistic and very childish

"It's a B-rank!" she shouted and he laughed before hugging her back

"I think we should get packing" he said after a few minutes of playing around, he grabbed Anko's hand and pulled her up, and with that both of them disappeared from the clearing in a swirl of leaves.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Wave Arc

Naruto and Anko where on yet another mission, an A-rank to be precise, the mission objective was to kill a rather wealthy but extremely corrupt, man

'_This is snake; I'm in position, taking out target...now!' _Anko said over the radio, Naruto was hiding in some trees just outside the perimeter of the mansion, he had run interference while Anko made her way inside

'_Targets dead...hold on....shit!' _Anko suddenly called and Naruto could hear the sounds of footsteps in the background, he began to reply

'_Snake, I'm initiating plan b, I repeat, I am initiating plan b' _Naruto called back and began his preparations, which involved a fair number of exploding clones, henged to make them look like mercenaries and thugs

'_Negative' _Anko's voice came back over the radio

'_Tough shit snake' _was Naruto's reply as his clones jumped in and began attacking the guards while the real Naruto slipped in unseen.

Naruto ran swiftly through the twisting corridors of the mansion, his excellent hearing picked out the sounds of fighting as his nose found Anko's scent, turning into a room Naruto found Anko surrounded by four jounin level ninjas that didn't look very happy. Before the men could even sense him Naruto had moved, killing two of them in one stroke with a kunai he then turned to block the ninja to his left while Anko dealt with to one to his right, Naruto kept on blocking the ninja until he eventually lunged and caught the man's jugular vein and watched with cold eyes as the man's life blood escaped him s he fell dead, Naruto turned to find Anko glaring at him, he shrugged it off and grabbed her as they made their escape.

Once they were far enough away from the fighting Naruto turned and uttered a single word

"Boom" as soon as the word left his lips every last of the ten or so clones left exploded creating a far sized explosion that rocked to compound and removed anybody who had seen them, Naruto turned, and without looking once at Anko, began to jump away. He knew she wasn't in the best of moods with him right now since he had done something rather reckless but he had other things to worry about, like getting home alive, but he swore that as soon as they got back he'd make it up to her, a smirk formed on his face as he thought of the perfect way to make it up to her.

Anko was mad, no scratch that, she was furious, who the fuck did the gaki think he was? He had just run in there without a single thought for his own or her safety, yes he had a plan, but no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. She could feel Naruto's eyes on her, but as soon as she looked towards him he stopped, it was beginning to get on her nerves

"If you got something you want to say, gaki, then say it" she said, her tone harsh due to her anger but Naruto simply shrugged it off, it wasn't like he wasn't used to being hated

"I'll make you a deal, okay?" he asked her and she thought about it for a second

"What do you want, and what do I get?" she replied and he suddenly smirked and leaned in to her, wrapping a arm around her waist and nibbling on her neck making her shiver

"I'll give you a full body massage" he growled in her ear, as soon as Anko heard the words 'full body massage' her minds went straight to the gutter, not even bothering to contemplate what he wanted she turned to him

"Okay", Naruto chuckled at her enthusiasm; he had thought that would get her attention. His mistake and her anger seemingly forgotten for the time being they both turned and headed back home.

"Mission complete, Hokage-sama" Naruto informed the Hokage as the aging man skimmed over his report briefly

"Very good Naruto-kun, Anko-chan" the Hokage said, drawing a smile from the boy and a smirk from the girl "this is you're, what, third A-rank together? And you managed to complete it without a hitch, good work, your payment is right here" Sarutobi said, as he reached under his desk and handed the two a brown envelope each, both containing their pay

"Thanks ojji-san" Naruto and Anko both called as they excited the Hokage's office; much to the old man's amusement.

As soon as they had left the Hokage tower Anko immediately grabbed Naruto and started dragging him off towards her apartment

"Hey, wait a sec!" he cried out and she stopped and turned to him with a pout on her face, even though his full height only barely reached her chin she still managed to crouch down and give him to cutest pout he'd ever seen in his life, his eyebrow twitched and he grunted before pulling her up

"Just come back to your house in half an hour time, okay?" he asked and when she looked at him feeling confused he only turned her around and gentle slapped her ass, earning him a small 'eep' of surprise and before she could take revenge he was gone, she grumbled and walked off, determined to have some fun at least.

At the allocated time she arrived back at her apartment, she opened the door to find a half naked Naruto waiting for her, he laughed as a small trickle of blood ran down from her nose due to some rather impure thoughts that were now racing through her head, he walked over to her and gently pulled her towards her bedroom, he opened in and what Anko saw made her jaw drop. Candles were scattered about the room, giving it a gorgeous glow, the lavender scent they gave off wafted to her and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed one of her more favourite scents, Naruto chuckled

"I take it the lady likes?" he asked and watched as Anko could only nod dumbly, now noticing the new sheets on her bed and a purple rose (god knows how it was purple) sitting in a small vase on her bedside table

"Come on Anko-chan" Naruto whispered in her ear making her stiffen up in slight pleasure at his tone of voice and the feel of his warm breath against her flesh, she quickly discarded her clothes and laid down on her front as Naruto rubbed some scented oil on his hands and her back

Starting at her neck he made his way, achingly slowly down her body, going down along her shoulders and to her back before heading further down to her lower back before heading lower, bypassing her ass and choosing instead to rub her legs as she softly mewled at the pleasurable sensations of her body relaxing under Naruto's gentle yet firm touch, he made his way to her feet, he smiled as an idea came to him, he leaned down and softly kissed the soles of her feet, making her toes curl in delight and he could of sworn she began to purr lightly as his ministrations continued, he slowly made his way back up her body, only now he placed kisses every so often at seemingly random points on her body as she began to mewl again, when he reach her ass he gently took a cheek in each hand, her ass was perfect, firm but still soft and slightly pale like the rest of her body

"Oh, you like to tan naked Anko-chan?" he asked as he began to knead the cheeks of her ass, earning him a soft moan of appreciation from the women lying below him

"Y-yes" she mumbled out and he smiled as he softly kissed both of her ass cheeks making her gasp slightly as he then blew on the slightly wet patch, he smiled softly and, feeling a bit courageous, he ran a finger in-between her ass cheeks earning him a startled gasp which turned into a soft moan as he began to massage her aching body again. She sighed as he gently turned her over and took a moment to gaze down at the heavenly body laid before him, he skin was slightly pale but beautiful all the same, her breasts were a feast for his eyes, only slightly bigger than a handful, his eyes travelled down, past her smooth toned stomach and small navel and past the small patch of hair that guarded her most sacred place and further down, along her magnificently toned legs and finally onto her feet. All in all...a thing of heavenly beauty that all words failed to describe well enough.

He smiled and began to massage her, starting at her neck and slowly making his way down past her shoulders and onto her arms, slowly massaging them and missing her breasts altogether as he continued down, he softly kissed her stomach and licked her cute navel, making her giggle slightly, he continued down, nuzzling her soft patch of hair making her gasp out softly before moving on to massage her legs, placing kisses down her right leg before stopping at the feet and kissing his way up her left leg, paying special attention to her inner thighs which she opened unconsciously, he then moved back up, carefully cupping her breasts and slowly beginning to massage them, Anko's eyes opened and she moaned out as she felt the heat between her legs increase further, he smiled at her pleasured expression and leaned down to softly capture her right nipple in his mouth, she moaned out even louder as her hips lifted off of the bed slightly and she arched her back as much as she could with him pinning her down, he smirked and ran his tongue around her hard nipple before sucking on it before moving onto the other. By now Anko could no longer think straight, the pleasure just kept on building up further and further and she could feel the coiled heat in her stomach about to release. She suddenly cried out, her back arched, her toes curled and her voice hit a rather high pitch, Naruto was slightly confused for a moment until her noticed the signs; he smirked as he noticed the musky smell coming from Anko's nether regions

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked with a small laugh as Anko reached up to him and pulled him against her chest and hummed her assent before drifting off. Naruto smiled and resisted the urge to chuckle as her heard Anko start snoring lest he wake the sleeping form using him as a teddy bear, he didn't really care though, especially considering where his head was, namely in-between Anko's rather impressive 'assets', Naruto made a note to certainly do this more often as he drifted off to sleep, a content smile on his face.

It had been rather shocking for the both of them at how fast their relationship blossomed, they knew they shared quite a few similarities and their personalities were almost the same, but they were still shocked at how quickly they became friends and then good friends with 'benefits', Anko got full body massages every so often, and Naruto got to sleep in-between her breasts, what could possibly be better? It was almost like they had been made for each other (sounds corny don't it) but there was no other possible reason for their rapid relationship, well, except for their loneliness at not having anyone who understood them.

Today Anko was walking along with an extra spring in her step and a smile that practically outshone the sun on some level, people visibly cringed in fear as they saw her smile and could only wonder what poor bastard she had killed today or weather she'd finally gotten a shot off at her old sensei. But Anko could care less about what the bastards around her though and entered the dango stand to find her best friend Kurenai already sitting at 'their' table waiting upon her order to arrive, when she saw Anko she smiled and waved and raised an eyebrow at her friends obvious happiness

"What happened to make you so happy, you kill someone or something?" Kurenai asked as Anko seated herself on the other side of the table facing Kurenai. Kurenai looked on as Anko's eyes glazed over and she sighed happily before beginning to mumble, the only words Kurenai caught were 'Naruto' and 'full body massage' but Kurenai knew what had happened

"N-Naruto gave you a-a full body massage?" Kurenai asked in shock and Anko only nodded with that dazed expression still on her face

"It was sooooo good" Anko eventually said and Kurenai looked at her

"Did you...?" Kurenai left the question unspoken but when she saw Anko's lecherous grin her eyes widened

"How old is he again?" she asked as Anko finally focused back on reality

"Fourteen" she mumbled still not quite all there yet "but anyway, old enough to kill, old enough to drink and fuck" Anko said as her perverted grin came back full force as Kurenai sweat-dropped

"You're just too much sometimes" Kurenai mumbled as she turned away from her friend as a comfortable silence drifted over them

"So, how was it?" she finally asked, startling Anko out of her brief recall of the previous day

"What? Him, the orgasm, the massage, or all three?"She asked with a grin that made Kurenai slightly uncomfortable

"All of them" she replied and Anko sighed, again gaining that happy expression on her face as her eyes gained a faraway look to them that Kurenai had never really seen

"He was soooo good Kure-chan, he spent half an hour getting everything perfect for me and then treated me to the most relaxing and pleasurable time I've ever had with a man, and the orgasm..." she drifted off at that point and Kurenai could swear that Anko's eyes rolled back just slightly into her head

"It was one of the best I've had in my whole life" Anko admitted, it was true; all she had been able to see during the thing was flashes of colour and the feeling of tendrils of pleasure rushing throughout her entire body. She turned back to find Kurenai now had a slight nose bleed along with a disbelieving expression on her face

"H-how? With just a massage..." she drifted off, still not quite believing her friend and Anko only smirked

"Nu-uh Kure-chan, he's _mine_" Anko said, stressing the 'mine' part which made Kurenai splutter slightly

"N-no, I wasn't..."

"Of _course_ you weren't Kure-chan" Anko interrupted her before leaning forwards and putting her lips next to Kurenai's ear

"But if you want I _could_ ask him to give _you_ one if you want" Anko said in a husky voice that made Kurenai shiver ever so slightly before she pulled back noticed that Kurenai had a dazed expression and a full blown nose bleed, Anko laughed which snapped Kurenai out of her trance, she quickly wiped the blood away and leaned forward

"Would you?" she asked in a whisper, sounding desperate, all tones of playfulness gone from her voice, Anko's humour vanished at her friends tone

"Kurenai?" she said, gently putting her hands over her friends and squeezing slightly

"I-I know it's a lot to ask, b-but, it's been so long since I was with a man that didn't just want to fuck me" Kurenai whispered with tears threatening to fall, Anko smiled softly and kissed Kurenai on her cheek and wiped the tears away

"Sure Kure-chan, I'll ask him" Anko replied and her friend smiled at her before their conversation turned to something more cheerful, the daily gossip.

Naruto could be found at his favourite place, the ramen stand. He had just arrived but was already on his fifth bowl when he felt someone walking towards him, he sighed as he recognised the chakra signature as Sasuke's. Sasuke walked up to him with that usual arrogant smirk on his face

"Hey dobe" he said, Naruto simply ignored him, he had better things to do than listen to a emo-bastard talk like he was the king of the world of something, but eventually Sasuke got annoyed and tapped Naruto on the shoulder

"Oi, I'm talking to you" he said, his tone now angry, Naruto could care less however, he was thinking about when he could next give Anko a 'massage', but was brought out of his musing when a shrill voice suddenly rang out

"Yeah Naruto-baka, Sasuke-kun is talking to you" she screeched and Naruto sighed and turned around to face them, just when his day had been getting better as well

"What do you want?" Naruto asked with a hard edge to his voice, he didn't particularly want to speak to either of the two people in front of him, hell; he'd sooner face one of the sannin than talk to his previous 'teammates'. Sasuke smirked again, his arrogance and pride returning full force

"How's you 'special' training going?" he asked in a mocking tone, stressing special but Naruto got the hint, he only smiled and looked thoughtful

"Well, it's actually been going rather well, I've already got a number of powerful wind techniques under my belt, I'm close to mastering my wind element, I've done twelve mission..." he was cut off as Sasuke snorted in amusement

"We've completed fifty" he said, Naruto thought it was most likely a lie but shrugged it off

"Three A-ranks, five B-ranks, and four C-ranks" Naruto said, speaking like he was just talking about the weather, he looked to see both Sasuke and Sakura standing there with their mouths hanging open, Naruto smiled and turned back to the shop store owner

"Thanks for the ramen old man, it delicious as always" he said as he paid his bill and walked away, feeling a bit better now

"Hmm, ten o'clock better go find Anko-chan and go train" he said to himself before disappearing in a gust of wind to go find Anko.

He found her waiting for him at the tower in the middle of the forest, he walked towards her and she smiled at him

"Hey Naru-kun" she said and he smiled back

"Hey Anko-chan" he said as they embraced for a moment

"You're still short" Anko mentioned offhandedly when she noticed Naruto still only came up to just above her chin but Naruto smirked

"Don't worry, I'll grow taller soon" he said, if only she knew how soon, Naruto had spoken to the Kyuubi and given the fox a deal that it could feel everything he felt along with all of his other senses and in return the fox would grant Naruto better control over its power and a better body along with it in order to help with the control problem, in essence, he'd grow two and a half inches overnight, making his hair line reach the bridge of her nose

"Sure gaki" she said while patting his head, and he glared at her threateningly

"No more 'massages' for you then" he said as he turned away, Anko looked shocked for all of a second before...

"nooooooo!" she shouted as she fell to the ground clutching at Naruto's ankle comically, her pout up at full power, "please Naru-kun, please forgive me, anything but that!" she shouted and Naruto smirked at her desperation and the way she was looking up didn't help much either, she looked like a kicked puppy

"Okay Anko-chan" he said in an overly exasperated voice

"Yay!" she shouted and hugged Naruto to her impressive bust "thanks Naru-kun, you're the best!" she yelled while still holding him tightly to her chest, well, Naruto wasn't going to complain about it.

A few minutes later and they were in the arena getting ready to spar when Anko suddenly remembered something and turned towards Naruto with an expression he didn't like, he felt a cold tingle run up his spine, this wasn't going to bode well for him

"Naru-chan" Anko said in an excessively sweet tone, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the 'chan' but said nothing about it

"Yes Anko-hime" he said, smirking at her cute blush before she got herself back on track

"You know Kurenai?" she asked and he nodded, he'd heard about her, and had briefly spoken to her a few times over the past couple of weeks

"Can you give her a 'massage'?" she asked...nothing, a cricket could be heard chirping outside and Anko swore she saw a tumble weed pass by in front of them, Naruto's brain had shut down for a second

'_Brain version V2 rebooting please wait...welcome back, you have one request from Anko-chan, would you like to open?...you have selected yes....choose response....you have chosen:_

"What?" Naruto asked, still in a daze

"She wants a 'massage' from you, she hasn't been with a decent man for so long now Naru-kun, I'm worried" Anko said and Naruto sighed, this would most likely make things a bit awkward, but what was life without its little challenges?

"Okay then Anko-hime" Naruto conceded, knowing full well he wouldn't win this one, but he'd be damned if he lost the next.

"You ready?" he asked Anko as they both settled into their respective stances and faced each other, Anko nodded and they both readied themselves for the fight ahead. A few moments passed when suddenly they both shot out at each other, a punch here a kick there, it was Anko who was on the offensive but Naruto soon took it back. They went at this for a few more minutes before Naruto decided to step it up a notch, he sprang back and went down into a stance Anko didn't quite recognise

"Fox style" Naruto said simply before charging at her, she launched a punch but he simply swayed slightly to the side, only just dodging it before landing a punch to her midsection. The fight continued on like this for a little while before Anko had to give up.

Naruto smiled as he lay on top of her, he leaned down and softly nipped her neck before getting back up, earning him a pout from the special jonin while he simply chuckled at her

"Come on Anko, don't be like that, and anyway we need to go find Kurenai" he said, at the mention of her friends name Anko perked up considerably and they both made their way back towards the town.

They found Kurenai waiting for them in the dango shop, as always, and they both took a seat on the other side of her, Naruto smiled at her

"Hello Kurenai-chan" he said and Kurenai smiled back

"Hello Naruto-kun" she replied in kind, a slightly apprehensive look in her eyes, and they all ordered and a rather awkward silence descended on the group, Naruto decided to break it first

"So...Anko tells me you want something?" he asked with his foxy grin, making Kurenai blush

"W-well...it's just..." she tried to speak and failed, Naruto's grin softened into a kind smile and he reached out, gently taking both of Kurenai's hands in his own

"Relax okay? You don't need to do anything you don't think you'll be comfortable with" Naruto assured Kurenai who smiled softly

"I know, it's just that..." she drifted off, not quite sure what she should say but Naruto smiled

"You want to be loved" he stated simply and Kurenai looked at him shocked, he'd managed to describe her exact feelings in a mere few words, Naruto chuckled at her expression, and kissed her knuckles gently, much to Kurenai's embarrassment and, Naruto noticed, Anko's chagrin, he smiled

"How about this, I'll take you out tomorrow at seven, and I'll make you feel loved" Naruto said, Kurenai could only gape at him, she had been sure that he would refuse, but to not only accept but to allow her to go out with his was something else entirely, she looked over to Anko who looked a bit put out

"But..." Naruto then said, catching Kurenai's attention as Naruto put an arm around Anko "Anko has to come with" he said, Anko now looked surprised as did Kurenai, Naruto hadn't stopped smiling all the way through the conversation, he may be young by some peoples standards but in reality he was much more mature than he let on, and he knew that if he had to choose who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with right at that moment it would most defiantly be one of the two woman in front of him. The two women looked at him for a little bit longer before they both grinned at him in happiness; Anko grabbed his arm and hugged it

"Awww, thanks foxy-kun" she said and Naruto blinked at the nick name before smiled down on her

"You're welcome, Hebi-hime" he said grinning, Anko just pouted and turned away, making Naruto and Kurenai laugh, they eventually got on to chatting about non-ninja things, and once they started gossiping Naruto excused himself.

Naruto was extremely bored, hell, if it wasn't for the fact he was taking two beautiful women out tonight, even if it was only on a friendly bases, he'd march into the Hokage's office a demand a mission.

It was a nice day today, very calm, only a few lazy clouds drifted across the pale blue sky, a light breeze gently passed through the village, offsetting the heat that was provided by the near midday sun. Naruto was striding through the village at a rather leisurely pace while he thought about his relationship with the two woman in his life, on one hand there was Anko, childish at times, slightly sadistic at others and had a rather large hatred of snakes whereas Kurenai was sweet caring and not sadistic, as far as he knew in any way, wow, he had two women who were almost complete opposites. But on the inside they were both the same, they both wanted someone to love them, and Naruto would be damned if he wasn't going to be that person. So, with that small revelation in mind, he continued he relaxed walk through Kohana.

The allocated time eventually rolled around and Naruto found himself leading two, very, beautiful women through Kohana and towards the richer part of the town and into one of the more prestigious restaurants in the village

"Hold on Naru-kun, are you sure they'll even let us in?" Anko asked and Naruto only smirked

"I know the man who runs the place, I actually saved his daughter a while back, so he's rather grateful" Naruto explained as the group walked into the restaurant,

"Hey gjii" Naruto called out to the man welcoming the guests, as soon as the man saw Naruto he smiled brightly and shook the boys hand politely

"It's good to see you again Naruto, I take it these are the two lovely ladies you told me you'd be arriving with?" the man asked, and after receiving a nod in return, smiled and turned, leading them to a table on the second floor that had a beautiful view over the night-time Kohana

"So, what will you be having tonight, sir?" the man asked and both him and Naruto smirked at the little running joke that they had going

"I'll have some chilled sake to drink please, and for my meal I'll think I'll have today's special" Naruto replied, looking at the man with barely suppressed mirth as his two female companions also ordered, with that done and out of the way, Naruto and the two girls shared small talk before their meal arrived.

It was close to eleven when they finally left the posh restaurant; Naruto had his left arm around Anko's waist and had his other hand holding Kurenai

"Thank you Naruto" Kurenai said as they continued to walk through the late night, the streets were still empty, but Naruto knew that the drunks would start coming out soon, so he had suggested that they leave and make their way home before any of them got any dumb ideas and decided to attack them out of sheer drunken stupidity

"Your very welcome Kurenai" Naruto responded and silence reigned for a few moments more before Anko yawned and stretched slightly before sighing contentedly

"I must admit Naru-kun, that place does make some of the best dango I've ever tasted" Anko said while rubbing her stomach, which made Naruto chuckle and shake his head slightly at Anko's childish nature, but he did have to admit, it made it a lot of fun to be around her.

Eventually the trio made their way to Kurenai's apartment, and after bidding her farewell Naruto and Anko turned to leave when Naruto was struck by a sudden thought

"Hey, you two?" he asked sounding slightly unsure of himself

"Yeah?" both Kurenai and Anko asked at the same time

"Um...where does this leave us, I mean, will I be able to do this again or was this a onetime thing?" he asked the two attractive women standing in front of him. Anko only smirked and pressed Naruto to her impressive chest making him blush

"Of course you can Naru-kun" she said and Kurenai also nodded, and Naruto, after pulling away from Anko, sighed in relief and turned to leave

"I better get going, missions and all that, ja ne!" he called and in a swirl of leave he disappeared.

The next morning found Naruto facing his old enemy, an enemy he'd been fighting since he could remember...the sun. He tossed and turned but eventually decided that the sun was going to win this one and got up and went about his daily routine of getting dressed, having breakfast, brushing his teeth and then leaving to go to Anko's house that was, unsurprisingly slap bang in the middle of training ground 44. While walking there through the forest Naruto had time to reflect on his now growing relationship with the two women in his life, he found himself do this more and more these days, but he simply chalked it up to the fact that he simply felt more at peace and had more time on his hands now.

He eventually made it to the tower and walked inside, he quickly made it to Anko's room, but after knocking a number of times and not receiving an answer he carefully opened the door, just in case anything was going on he didn't want to intrude on. What he found was Anko, in bed, asleep, with a very happy smile on her face

"Naru-kun..." she mumbled before turning over, Naruto chuckled at Anko's just sheer cuteness at the moment, and he walked over to her and leaned down

"Anko-chan" he cooed softly in her ear, she squirmed and opened her eyes to find Naruto looking down at her with a rather amused expression on his face

"Oh, good morning Naru-kun" Anko said, stretching and yawning

"You know how cute you look like that" he said, and she only threw a pillow at him before pouting

"Your mean" she said in her most child like voice which only served to make Naruto laugh, she simply huffed and got up to go and get changed while Naruto waited outside her room for her.

When Anko was finally dressed and ready they both disappeared to the Hokage tower

"Ah, Anko-chan, Naruto-kun, just the people I wanted to see" the Hokage said while beaming, both Naruto and Anko smiled back and they got ready to receive their mission.

They were not pleased, and that was putting it mildly

"You're telling me that we are to help and possibly retrieve the Uchiha and that everyone else is expendable" Anko growled, trying to reign in her flaring temper, Naruto simply growled

"One day" he muttered to himself and Anko had a faint idea of what he was planning, namely killing and/or torturing the council members, the Hokage only nodded and sighed heavily

"I don't like it either, but they treat that boy like he was born from Kami herself and as such there is little I can do about it" Sarutobi said with his head in his hands. Naruto sighed and agreed to take the mission as did Anko, although she took some convincing, mainly Naruto offering to buy her as much dango as she could eat after the mission.

They met at the main gate, Anko wore her usual wear while Naruto arrived in sold black, black trousers that were slightly loose, muscle shirt, and a black jacket with silver patterns sown in, on his arms rested a pair of metal guards made for blocking blades and he wore fingerless gloves

"Shall we go?" he asked her and with that they were off, racing through the thick foliage of the forest towards their destination, the cool air whipping past their faces.

They made it to wave pretty easily, they walked through the town with their heads held high, they easily stood out amongst the general population who were mostly dressed in dirty clothes and rags. They passed countless children begging for food, Anko looked over at Naruto to find his eyes burning with a righteous fire she had seen only a few times, and none of those ended well for the person who set him off

"Anko" he suddenly whispered to her, and she looked at him

"Yes Naruto" she answered, dropping the honorific for the moment to show she was serious

"When we find Gato, let me kill him" he said simply, she knew how much this meant to him, and how he was going to make the man feel every ounce of pain he had forced upon these people and then some

"Okay Naruto" she replied and felt him sigh beside her, he then proceeded to from a number of shadow clones and tell them to go back to Kohana and get supplies for these people, the clones nodded and disappeared to follow their orders without pause

"How are you going to find all that food Naruto?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow and Naruto looked at her before sighing again

"It is our villages job to aid those who need help, these people need help, and besides, if we give them food and water then they'll be more likely to become allies in the future, so the Hokage will have to send it, as will the council" he said, his temper rising a few degrees when he thought of the council and the scum who sat upon it, he felt a placating hand on his shoulder and turned to find Anko looking at him in slight concern

"I'm fine Anko" he assured her, smiling slightly to ease her concerns "let's find the damn brat so we can get out of here" he mumbled and with that they resumed their walk to the house they were to meet the team at.

They eventually found the house and were introduced to the bridge builder and his daughter, her son was nowhere to be seen but Anko and Naruto were both surprised to find Kakashi lying in bed, Naruto could care less

"Kakashi-san" Naruto greeted the silver haired man, he turned to see Naruto and Anko standing there, Anko he could understand, but the old man had to be losing it if he'd sent Naruto as well

"Why are you here?" he asked and Naruto simply glared

"The Hokage saw fit to send me on this mission, Anko here is my sensei as you should already know, oh, and before you start spouting shit about me not being strong enough, I've been on more than enough A and B-ranked missions to be qualified for this" he said, Kakashi's eyes widened and looked to Anko who simply nodded that, yes, he had done that

"Now that that's out of the way, how the fuck did you end up in bed, and why are you not with your students?" Anko asked Kakashi, obviously not pleased at the moment, Kakashi could probably guess why.

He told them about the fight with the demon of the mist and his substituent save by a 'hunter Nin'. Now Naruto and Anko were simply frustrated

"Where are your students right now?" Naruto asked

"Outside training" Kakashi replied, Naruto stood and disappeared in a swirl of leaves to the field where team seven was training.

He reappeared on a branch looking down at them; he sat down on the branch he had appeared and swiftly went to sleep.

He found himself approaching a set of rather familiar set of gates; he walked up to them and looked deep into the darkness of the cage

"kyu-chan!" he called out, he heard mumbling and then someone walking closer at a rather lazy pace, he settled down beside the bars and waited, time wasn't very much of an issue here, the mind does move faster than the body after all.

Kyuubi eventually came into view, her hair was dishevelled and she still had sleep in her eyes, she saw Naruto and seemed to brighten up

"Ohayo Naruto" she greeted him

"Good morning kyu-chan" he responded. the Kyuubi sat down on the other side of the cage and looked at him

"you never visit any more" she whined, Naruto smiled apologetically

"I'm sorry, but I just never seem to have time anymore" he said, hoping to placate her for the moment, it seemed to work and they were soon making small talk about little non-important things and pretty soon they both fell into a comfortable silence which was broken by someone shouting Naruto's name, he groaned when he realised it was Sakura  
"I'd better go, see you later kyu-chan, and don't forget about our deal" he said as he began to fade from his mind, the Kyuubi only smirked at him as he vanished out of his mindscape.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked down to find the members of team seven, except for their newest member, looking up at him with both contempt and surprise.

"What are you doing here, dobe?" Sasuke asked in a arrogant tone, while Sakura just screeched

"Yeah Naruto-baka", Naruto glared at both of them coldly, before calmly walking down the tree to stand before them, he simply looked over them in silence for a brief few moments before turning and walking away

"Still weak" was all they heard before he disappeared, much to Sasuke and Sakura's annoyance.

Naruto reappeared a little way away from their training field to begin his own training, which consisted of a number of clones doing all manner of chakra control exercises while he fought some in basic Taijutsu along with some other more advanced stuff, he was going to be gone for a while.

Later that evening when all the ninja's were sat around the table having their dinner, Kakashi noticed Naruto's absence; he pointed it out to Anko who simply shrugged it off

"He does that a lot, he'll be out training until later this evening at least, the gaki just doesn't know when to take a break" Anko said, though the smile on her face told them all she was proud of him for what he did

"Yeah sensei" Sakura spoke up "why is Naruto-baka here?" she asked but before anyone could even utter a sound Anko was behind Sakura with a kunai to her throat

"I would like it if you didn't insult my student, ne?" she asked as she gently pulled the kunai back, just cutting Sakura's cheek and licking off the blood just as Naruto walked through the door looking a little worse for wear, he took one glance at the scene before him before walking up the stairs, muttering something about stupid fan girls and sadistic teachers. Anko simply laughed and sat back down, Kakashi then turned to Sakura

"Anko and Naruto are here to help us complete the mission" he said with a small eye smile, Anko coughed

"That's not entirely true, you see, right now me and Naruto-kun have our own...private mission to carry out and anyway, we were told that if we believed the mission was too much for you to handle then we were to grab the Uchiha and head back to Kohana" Anko explained to Kakashi who raised an eyebrow in response to that statement. Anko stood up and stretched

"Goodnight gaki's " she said as she walked up stairs and back to her bedroom that she'd been assigned, she walked in to find Naruto already out like a light on the bed snoring softly, and fought back the need to giggle at his expression before she herself laid down and went straight to sleep.

The rest of the week passed in much the same way with Naruto training the days away while they waited for Gato to make his move, eventually however his clones arrived with the food he had requested and he spent his entire third day simply handing it out to everyone in the town. Eventually the day came when Zabuza and his accomplice would make their move, so while team seven headed out to go defend the bridge Naruto and Anko, after leaving a few clones at Tazuna's household, both of them headed off to Gato's little hideaway they had spotted a few days back after Naruto sent his clones to go and scout the area for them.

The hideaway was a mansion, surrounded by wire fencing and some guards who were patrolling the area. It was the easiest thing for Naruto to send a clone, transformed into a girl, to the front gate to distract the guards while him and Anko slipped through a hole in the wire fence and made their way swiftly into the mansion.

It was pretty posh, but neither of them really had time for that, they made their way to the main room where Gato most likely kept all of his money, and after a bit of searching they found the vault, and a few minutes later they were staring at the most amount of money either of them had ever seen in their lives

"Holy Kami" Naruto muttered while only could only nod

"You can say that again gaki" she mumbled and reached out and gently took hold of some of the money

"It's real" she whispered, Naruto apparently got over his shock

"We need to seal this and give most of it back to the villagers" he said and almost laughed at Anko's shocked face

"B-but Naru-kun!" she whined and he smirked

"I said _most _of it" he explained and she smiled "I mean, there must be millions in here, I'm sure they won't mind if we take just a _bit_" he said while smiling right along with Anko, so with that they collected around ninety percent of it for the village and the rest to split between themselves, which they made out to be about five hundred grand each, more than enough when put together to give them both a life spent in relative comfort

"I guess we should go help the kids" Naruto said after receiving some information via a clone that the battle was going in the enemy's favour

"Fine" Anko huffed but Naruto pecked her on the cheek  
"Remember" he whispered to her "all the dango you can eat" at that she perked up and the two teammates made their way back to the bridge to help out Naruto's ex-teammates.

When they arrived at the bridge they weren't really surprised at what they found, the entire bridge was cloaked in mist

"Hmm..." Naruto wondered out loud as he took count of the situation, Sakura was frozen to the spot guarding Tazuna, Kakashi was locked in battle with Zabuza and Sasuke and Sai were both heavily damaged from fighting with Zabuza's apprentice, doing a brilliant impression of human pincushions

"You take the big guy, I'll take the lesser one" Naruto said to Anko who turned to him and shrugged before moving off to engage her target. Naruto smirked at his partner and vanished as well.

"Hey Cyclops, how's it going?" Anko said in a very unperturbed fashion as she walked towards the battle that was taking place at that moment, namely Kakashi hold Zabuza back with a kunai while Zabuza tired to slice his head off

"Anko!?" he asked loudly in surprise

"The one and only" she replied and charged at Zabuza who was forced to leap away

"Let's do this" he growled and they charged.

On the other side of the bridge Naruto was calmly staring at the ice dome that loamed in front of him

"Hmm" he said appreciatively as he walked in, Sai was passed out from blood loss and Sasuke was barely standing with needles sticking out of his body, Naruto saw he had his sharingan partially activated, he sighed and readied himself

"Stand down Sasuke-san, there is no need for you to fight any further" he said and Sasuke just glared at him but Naruto wasn't paying attention, he reached deep within himself and tugged on that chakra that so many feared and loathed, he felt it surge outwards and smirked at the mirror image of the boy in the hunter mask before the red chakra exploded, shattering the mirrors and flinging the boy a good ways, before the boy could blink Naruto had knocked him out and then proceeded to slit his throat, his eyes cold and dead as he did it, he'd learnt how to kill his heart and emotions years ago, but the truth was that it never really got any easier, not by a long shot.

He stood up and found Anko just finishing off Zabuza with a well placed kunai to the throat.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

They heard clapping from the other end of the bridge, Naruto and the rest of them turned to see the mist dissipating and a small army of mercenaries standing there, and behind them a short balding man who was obviously Gato

"Well done, I guess the 'demon of the mist' wasn't all that powerful after all" the man chuckled darkly, Naruto felt his blood begin to boil, Anko saw his body tense and knew what he was going to do, and it wasn't going to be pretty

"Those of you who don't like blood, turn away now" she said to team seven who looked at her strangely

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked and Anko replied without turning around, still watching Naruto as his breathing became deeper and his hands came up

"I mean he's going to most likely butcher those mercenaries' up there, if there's one thing he truly hates its murders, rapists and men like Gato" Anko replied and Sasuke snorted in amusement, but Anko ignored him, if Naruto saw red then she would need to jump in there and stop him from getting himself killed

"_Kaze no Yaiba_" he muttered and the blades of wind formed on each hand as he glared at the merc's and suddenly he moved, flying through the air like a speeding kunai he was quickly upon the mercenaries before they had a chance to react, his blades slicing through their soft flesh like a knife through butter, Anko jumped in after him, if only to prevent him getting killed and only a few minutes after the slaughter had begun it was over.

Blood covered the bridge now, and it dripped off of the sides as Naruto stood there like a demon, covered in his enemy's blood and guts, he took in a deep breath and walked towards Gato who was cowering in fear, on the other end of the bridge team seven stood there, Sakura had been sick, Sasuke was pale as a ghost, Sai stared on impassively, even if he was slightly impressed and disgusted at the rather gruesome spectacle, Kakashi just stood there both shocked and appalled at what he had just seen

"Your coming with me" Naruto growled and he bound Gato up and slung him over his shoulder and him and Anko, both covering in blood and entrails, made their way back down the bridge and past the shocked and disgusted team seven and a terrified Tazuna and back into the town.

There they walked to the centre of town and bound Gato to a post in the centre of the town square before walking away with Naruto now leaning on Anko for support.

That night both him and Anko went to a bar in the centre of town, the bartender was more than happy to serve them for free, even if Naruto was technically underage according to civilian law

"How you handling it?" Anko asked Naruto, as she watched him down another dish of sake before motioning for another, it wouldn't affect him anyway, since his metabolism was to fast thanks to the fox, meaning it burnt off the alcohol before he could fully enter his system

"I'll be alright, eventually" he said, mumbling the last bit, Anko sighed as she looked down at the sake in her own dish

"You did what you had to do" she said finally, Naruto just sighed

"I know that, but there were other ways I could of taken care of those bandits" he said, looking up at the dull wooden ceiling as if it held the answers he sought, Anko sighed again  
"If you had just chased them away then they would of still gone on to rape and pillage other places" she said to Naruto, who smiled

"Thanks Anko" he whispered so quietly that she could only just hear it

"For what?" she asked, a bit confused

"For being here, and trying to make me feel better" he explained, smiling at her softly, she blushed

"You'd do the same for me" she said, trying to defend herself, he chuckled

"But still...thank you" he said and they slipped into a comfortable silence.

The next morning was gloriously sunny, with a cool breeze blowing in from the sea carrying with it the scent of the ocean, but alas it was also the day they were due to leave, the villagers all came out to bid them farewell and to have a safe trip back, although Anko and Naruto got most of the attention, especially thanks to Naruto giving them back a large amount of money as well as providing them with some food

"Come back anytime" one said cheerfully while shaking Naruto's hand vigorously to which Naruto smiled and nodded and moved on to the next person.

All in all it took almost half an hour for him and Anko to finish with the goodbye's to the villagers, much to team sevens chagrin, but they finally left and made their way back to Kohana.

They arrived back in the village on a beautiful day, the sky was crystal clear with not a cloud to be seen, the heat was warm without being overwhelming, all in all a very relaxed atmosphere surrounded to town when team seven arrived with Naruto and Anko leading them to the Hokage's office.

"Mission complete sir" Naruto said, standing to attention in front of the Hokage, much to team sevens amazement

"Well done Naruto and Anko, your pay is here" he said, passing them the envelopes "and I'm putting you on leave for the next two weeks, I'm sure Anko's got something to tell you anyway" he said and motioned for them to go, they both bowed and disappeared in twin swirls of leaves.

"Ah, it feels good to be able to relax" Anko groaned, stretching and making her back pop. Naruto chuckled

"Yeah" he agreed "now" he said, wrapping an arm around Anko's waist, "how about we go find Kurenai and see what she and her team are up to?" he asked and Anko nodded before they both took to the rooftops to find Kurenai and her team.

They found them a few minutes later at their respective training ground, with Kiba and Shino battling it out while Kurenai and Hinata both watched from the sidelines. Kurenai practically jumped out of her skin when she felt Naruto's arms go round her

"Hello Kure-chan" Naruto muttered to Kurenai making her relax at realising who it was

"Hello Naru-kun" she replied back, relaxing into him as he sat down with her head against his shoulder. He noticed Kurenai's team looking at him in shock, but quickly shrugged it off as Kurenai snuggled into him and he heard Anko above him, calmly munching on her dango as she watched him and Kurenai

"Careful Kurenai" Anko said suddenly, startling Kurenai and earning her a glare from Naruto

"He's both of ours, remember?"She asked and Kurenai blushed furiously as her team stared on in shock and Naruto palmed his face as he noticed how Hinata's eyes were beginning to glow furiously

"You need more tact" Naruto grumbled as Anko just laughed at their annoyances. Naruto looked up at her with a smirk of his own and Anko looked down nervously at him, that smile meant trouble

"I'm not going to touch you anymore now" he told her with complete seriousness and Anko nearly fell out of the branch she was on, and before anyone could blink she was in front of Naruto, on her knees and begging for him to do anything but that, this time it was his and Kurenai's turn to laugh at Anko's worried face before he told her it was fine

"By the way" he said after a few more minutes of silence, getting the girls attention "I'm taking you two out tonight, in celebration of the liberation of wave" he said, getting both a grin and kiss from both of the women.

Finally it appeared that Kurenai's team got the courage to come over and talk to them after a little while, although Hinata appeared rather apprehensive

"Hey guys, what do you want?" he asked, Kurenai now asleep on his right arm and shoulder while Anko had her head in his lap as he stroked her hair in a very comforting gesture that put the others off guard

"Um...why are you here?" Kiba asked even though his pause made it obvious what he really wanted to ask about and Hinata's KI was beginning to affect Naruto slightly

"I'm here to talk and spend some time with Kurenai-chan" he told them "and before you ask about either her or Anko, yes their both my girlfriends and no, Kiba, we haven't done _that_ yet" he said seeing Kiba open his mouth to say something but shut it just as quickly "haven't you lot got training to do anyway?" Naruto asked and Kiba huffed before walking away, followed by a stoic Shino and nervous and furious Hinata. Naruto sighed and called after her, she turned around

"don't be angry at them, Hinata-chan, I love them and they love me and I'm sorry you feel injured over this, but please remember that there are others out there waiting for you, I could never marry you, not with the way the council acts towards me" he told her, and she looked slightly confused so he decided to explain further "put it this way, would your father o ever let you marry me?2 he asked her and she sighed sadly while shaking her head "I didn't think so, so look Hinata, find someone else, someone who will love and cherish you like you want to be cherished, but most of all, become strong" he told her and she smiled bright at him

"Hai, thanks Naruto-kun" she yelled out at him as she ran after her team. Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head back and sighed serenely as he felt the cool wind whip gently around his body as the sun shone down through the hazy sky, obscured every so often by a random cloud passing over head and Naruto sighed again, breathing deeply and allowing the different smells that surrounded him to fill his mind. He smelt the grass below him and the forest, the sweet scent of dango from Anko and a calm scent of lavender from Kurenai's hair. He opened his eyes again and looked down at Anko whose breathing had now evened out and who was obviously asleep, as was Kurenai still. He watched, entranced, as the gentle sunlight played across their skins in mesmerising patterns that he had no choice to follow with his eyes. And as he sat there beneath the tree, tuning out the sound of battle, he thought about just how much his life had changed, he had found happiness and acceptance from two of the most beautiful women in the village, yes he knew that many trials lay ahead, but he had never been one to back down from a challenge. He smiled, and with that thought in his mind, drifted off to sleep, to dreams of his future life with the two beautiful women beside him.

It was close to eight o'clock when he picked Kurenai and Anko up from their respective homes and took them to the place he had last taken them to, much to the two girls delight and joy.

And after a rather uneventful dinner the trio slowly made their way back to their homes, chatting along the way, Kurenai and Anko being slightly tipsy whereas Naruto couldn't even get drunk, much to the girl's dismay. He smiled as he led the two tipsy women back to Kurenai's apartment, he laughed and joked but in his mind he was getting annoyed since he could sense three men following them, obviously biding their time to get him, and most likely the two beautiful women by his side. He got Kurenai to her place without a fuss and proceeded to lead Anko back to her place in the forest of death, once again he got there without fuss, and after letting her go he sighed and then his face hardened, he normally warm blue eye's becoming as cold as steel and twice a deadly, he was pissed and the bastards following him were going to get it

"Come out you cowards" he growled and three Chunin ninja stepped forwards, one opened his mouth but before he could utter a single word he slumped as Naruto appeared behind him, fist smashed into the man's skull. The other two stared as they saw Naruto move, he then moved again and struck the second man in the temple and after watching him crumple he turned to the third, who was now apparently fearing for his life

"What do you bastards want?" he growled, wanting answers before sending the man into unconsciousness

"N-nothing" the man stuttered and Naruto growled again before slamming his right knee into the man's jaw, breaking it. With that done he sighed and turned away without looking back, just wanting to go home and rest.

The next day was the same as yesterday, the sky was clear but the stray cloud still floated overhead, obscuring the sun every so often. Naruto was in his normal clearing, practising some of his wind techniques, and when Anko saw him she remembered something

"Hey Naru-kun?" she asked and he turned to her, smiling

"Yes, Anko-hime" he replied, making her blush

"I was wondering" she said "how did you learn wind manipulation so easily?" she asked and Naruto smiled

"The old man should really keep his library locked at night" Naruto replied and Anko gaped at him like a fish out of water

"Y-you broke into the H-Hokage's office?" she asked in shock and he nodded

"That's where I learned most of the stuff I know now, not like it was easy or anything, but as soon as I discovered the shadow clone technique things got slightly easier" he explained and Anko just stared at him before remembering something else. She went to tell him only to find that he'd moved without making a sound, she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck and she shuddered involuntarily

"Boo" he muttered, kissing her on the neck before pulling away with a mischievous smirk on his face, Anko took a moment to compose herself before turning to face him and pouting, he only laughed and she huffed before thrusting a piece of paper at him. He took it and read in before looking up at her questioningly

"You have to do it, otherwise the council will get suspicious" she told him and he sighed, this was going to be...troublesome, to say the least

"I take it I'm on _their_ team" he asked, though it was more like a statement and she nodded grimly and he sighed heavily

"Oh well" he mumbled, knowing him and Kyuubi would have to push forward the transformation time, as it would be too dangerous to do it in the middle of an exam. He sighed again and jumped back down to the clearing and settled into a fighting stance, motioning for Anko to come at him, she smiled and jumped.

Later on that day Naruto was on his way to team seven's training ground, his head filled with thoughts of both his training and the two women in his life. He arrived at the training ground to find the three members of team seven waiting for him, namely, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. He approached at a lazy pace, when he was finally close enough he spoke, not even giving Sakura the chance to try and deafen him

"Let's get one thing perfectly straight, I hate every one of you bastards" Naruto said bluntly, much to the shock of his previous team, "I'm only here on Hokage's orders, I have no obligations to any of, and if you" he said, pointing at Kakashi "even _try_ to get me to teach this _bastard_, then I will have you suspended on section paragraph four, line two of the ninja laws" and with that said he walked off, ignoring the glares of Kakashi and Sasuke and the shrill cries of Sakura, but he stopped and turned back

"Shut up you dumb bitch" Naruto hissed at her making her eyes go wide, but before she could open her mouth again he had started speaking again "you are weak, truly pathetic, you know nothing of pain, you have never killed, you lack skills in _everything_" he growled harshly, Sakura got teary eyed and Kakashi growled at Naruto who glared back "don't even think about it you stupid shit, you're not my team, and you're not my sensei...see you guys in hell" he said and with that disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving team seven, especially Sakura, with a lot to think about.

He walked through the village with a content smile on his face at having dealt with at least some of the demons of his rather pain filled past, at least he could look forward to a happy future, at least...he hoped it would be happy.

The week before the exam passed fairly quickly, except for the night he had to undergo the 'transformation', Naruto was too busy perfecting his two new techniques to spend time with his new 'team', not that either party really cared, he spent more time with Anko and Kurenai, and enjoyed himself fully before exam time finally rolled around and he was forced to go and meet up with team seven in order to head off to the exam.

They arrived in the exam hall after speaking with Kakashi for a moment, to find all of their class mates there, Naruto slunk off and rested against one of the walls, watching the steady progression of their classmates coming and meeting them. Until a silver haired boy walked over, Naruto's nose twitched, he smelt of snakes, and the only person he knew smelt of snakes except from Anko was Orochimaru. His eyes narrowed and he vowed to tell Ibiki of this rather disturbing event after the first exam had finished.

It was about that time when Ibiki walked through the door and announced the start of the first exam. Naruto walked in lazily and took his seat, leaning back against his chair he swiftly fell asleep before Ibiki had even finished explaining the exam rules, Naruto had been told about this already and as such knew he didn't need to worry about the questions.

As time passed and more and more people were sent out from the exam room, Naruto found himself growing more and more fed up with how long the exam was taking, so he flipped his paper over and wrote his note for Ibiki on top of it before going to sleep again.

He was awoken when Ibiki began his speech about the tenth question; Naruto only yawned and went back to sleep, only to be awoken again by the sound of the window breaking. Naruto sat up and looked down to the front where Anko uncurled herself and glared at the lot of them with a sadistic smile on her face that made many people in the room shiver. Then her gaze settled on Naruto

"You!" she shouted as she pointed at him, Naruto jumped onto his desk

"You!" he shouted back and leaped at her, many people were on the edge of their seats waiting for a fight, but then...

"Naru-kun/Anko-chan" rang out as the two embraced and just about everyone's faces hit the floor, making the two people laugh as they both disappeared towards the forest of death.

Once they both made it to the forest they had to wait for the rest of the applicants to arrive. Once they had however, Anko quickly explained the rules and how death, rape, yadda yadda, was allowed in the forest.

Meanwhile however, Ibiki had discovered Naruto's note, he read it over once, then again, and finally ran out of the building towards the Hokage's office

"Lord Hokage!" he cried as he burst into the Hokage's office, where the Hokage was just discussing some things with his two previous teammates

"Wha-"

"Its Orochimaru sir, we have reason to believe he's here, in the exams" he gasped as the Hokage and his two advisors looked on shocked

"Okay, how do you know that?" the Hokage asked, and Ibiki passed him Naruto's note. The Hokage read it over once and nodded

"Very well, prepare Anbu squads, have them patrol the forest where the genin's are taking their exam now, if he is located then do not engage him, tell them to pulse their chakra so we know where he is, pass this on to Anko's apprentice as well" the Hokage ordered him in a stern voice, he nodded once and vanished.

Back at the forest of death, Anko was collecting in the forms when Naruto signalled he needed to talk to her about something. She motioned back for him to come over.

"Anko" Naruto said, complete serious, his tone making her stiffen up "before I tell you what I want to tell you, I want you to promise me you won't act rashly or do anything on your own, okay?" he asked, Anko nodded with barely a second thought

"Good, okay..." he took a deep breath "Orochimaru's here", her reaction was instantaneous, and killing intent began to pour out of her. Naruto grabbed her face gently and kissed her, stopping the flow of killing intent before anyone noticed

"Calm down, Anko-chan" he muttered to her

"Calm down?" she hissed "how the fuck can I calm down when the guy who ruined my life is _here_ in this very place?" she hissed. Naruto reached out and hugged her tightly for a brief moment before pulling back and looking her straight in the eye

"Do _not_ attempt to kill him, I don't care how good you think you are, he _will_ kill you, even _I_ probably wouldn't be able to kill the bastard, okay?" he said, his voice no longer friendly, but like a commander giving orders. Anko looked down at the ground and sighed

"Okay Naru-kun" she mumbled and he smiled, giving her a small kiss before walking away and back to his 'team.

Anko sighed, suddenly an Anbu appeared, and handed her a scroll

"These are orders from the Hokage regarding the current...situation, I am also under orders to tell you to give them to Naruto-san as well" the masked man said and disappeared. Anko glanced over the scroll and sighed. Reading over it briefly before pocketing it and turning back to the assembled genin, her anger boiling just under the surface, she told them all to get going, promising herself she'd get a go at the bastard later on.

The signal was given and the collected teams shot off into the dark depths of the forest. Naruto led his 'team' quickly into the forest, already knowing the place like his own backyard had its benefits after all

"Hey dobe?" Sasuke called out, Naruto ignored him, and he was focusing on the chakra signatures around them, trying to locate the snake

"Hey Naru-!" Sakura started to shout, Naruto turned and, grabbing her by the neck, slammed her up against a nearby tree

"Shut it Haruno" he hissed "if this was a real mission I'd have the right to kill you for such an outburst, you have now most likely given away our position thank you very much, so now we're going to have to forget staying in this area, we need to move deeper" he said, and released her "if you two can't keep up then tell me, I'll carry you" he said and shot off into the forest before either of the other two could blink, they looked at each other and, without another word, jumped after him.

Meanwhile on the other side of the forest Anko was hunting for snake, she knew she shouldn't be doing it, and that Naruto would hate her for endangering her life on such a 'foolish' endeavour, but she had orders from the Hokage.

"shit" she suddenly remembered about the orders she was meant to give Naruto, she gulped realising just how much shit she was going to get into, but that's when she saw him, standing beside a tree, she growled and leaped.

Back with Naruto however, him and his team had just encountered a mist team, and had proceeded to beat the shit out of them, well, Naruto had, and the other two had just sat back and watched with open jaws at his display of power. Later on Naruto had led them to a cave he knew of

"Hey Naruto....um" Sakura muttered, not sure what to call him

"San's, fine Sakura-san" he told her, she sighed and tried again  
"Um, Naruto-san, why are we here?" Sakura asked, Naruto turned and looked at her

"Would you rather be out during the night when other teams will be settling in for the hunt?" he asked and Sakura gulped

"Well...no, but surely we could reach the tower if we hurry" she reasoned

"Yes, we probably could, however, if we wait over night there will be less teams to deal with, so we'll encounter less resistance getting there" he told her, she seemed to think on that and then nod, giving her consent, she began to help with the preparations for the night. Suddenly Naruto felt a familiar chakra pulse. He stiffened

"Shit!" he yelled and ran towards the entrance, shocking the other two

"Oi dobe, where are you going?" Sasuke shouted after him but Naruto just formed a few clones and shot of into the distance, leaving the other two to wonder what could of possibly happened to make him panic like that.

Anko was seriously beginning to think that maybe attacking her old teacher wasn't such a good idea as she lay on the ground, writhing as pain shot through her body continuously. She could hear Orochimaru snickering darkly as he continued to attempt to kill her through the cursed seal

"Anko!" a voice suddenly cried and before either Anko or Orochimaru could look a bullet of air hit him straight in the head, punching right through it as the clone disintegrated back into mud. Naruto landed beside Anko on the branch she had been on and took up a defensive stance along with another three copies of himself

"Naruto-kun, I..." Anko tried to talk but the dark look he shot her silenced her, she could feel the guilt welling up inside of her, the sense she had betrayed him was growing by leaps and bounds and she suddenly found that she wanted to curl up and die.

Naruto could sense another clone out there watching them; he growled and gathered up a large amount of wind chakra

"_Kamaitachi no Jutsu_" he growled and pushed his hands forwards, the wind behind him lashed out at the forest in front of him, cutting entire trees in half, Naruto jumped towards the destruction just in time to see the mud clone, that had been cut in half, disintegrate. He growled in annoyance that the snake had gotten away, but then he remembered Anko, he turned to his clone and told him to wait there with her until the Anbu arrived, he pulsed his chakra a few times and then left, not even sparing Anko another glance much to her sorrow.

He quickly made it back to the cave his teammates were in, he saw that they were both asleep, he sighed and turned to the clone, nodding to it, it dispersed in a cloud of smoke, Naruto sighed once more and went to the entrance of the cave, sitting down he looked up as the sun finally began to set and the stars arrived.

The next morning Sasuke and Sakura awoke to find Naruto still there, looking out of the entrance of the cave

"Morning" he said, not sounding tired in the slightest, even after everything he'd done "breakfast isn't much I'm afraid, just some leftovers from last night and some snack bars" he told them, Sakura smiled and dug in, Sasuke grumbled something about 'blondes showing off' and started eating as well.

Once they were all watered and fed they set off

"So Naruto-san" Sakura said, noticing Sasuke was still in a mood, most likely because of Naruto's power "are we just going straight to the tower today?" she asked him, and Naruto nodded

"After last night there shouldn't be too many teams left" he told her

"How do you know that, dobe?" Sasuke asked him, sounding as cocky as ever

"I know, Sasuke-_chan_" Naruto said, emphasizing the 'chan' much to Sasuke's ire "because I had clones scouting around in the forest all night, and they've all reported a heavy number of casualties in the forest" he said, Sasuke grumbled and turned back to looking forward, Naruto smiled and Sakura wondered about just how little they knew about Naruto.

Half way there something strange happened, a giant snake came out of nowhere and swallowed Naruto, Sakura screamed and Sasuke went to go and help before they both suddenly found themselves frozen to the spot by visions of their own deaths as a grass nin appeared in front of them, chuckling darkly as he watched Sasuke break the spell with a kunai to the leg, he looked up and growled

"You're gonna pay for that" he growled and attacked.

Meanwhile Naruto was wondering what to do with the massive corpse that now lay at his feet, its insides exploded from one too many shadow clones. Naruto just shrugged and jumped off into the trees, he could hear the sounds of battle, and if that snake was any indication, it meant Orochimaru was here.

Naruto jumped out, watching as the snakes neck stretched out to Sasuke, Naruto growled and launched a wind bullet, and it impacted Orochimaru on the side of the head...again, sending him toppling to the forest floor, a good twenty feet or so down. He landed beside Sasuke and Sakura, who was now holding Sasuke up

"Okay you two, I'm going to try and hold him back for a little while, while I'm doing that I need you two to go to the tower and get help, tell them Orochimaru's here" he told them, Sakura gulped

"Don't be scared Sakura" Naruto told her, and she looked at him "I'll be holding him back, and I'll send some clones with you, I am not going to have either of you die while on my team" Naruto told her calmly

"Ku ku ku, how sweet" a slightly feminine voice called out

"Come out coward" Naruto said, his voice calm and measured as he looked about, discretely telling his shadow clones in the forest around him to be ready to attack

"Now now, Naru-_kun_, where's the fun in that" the voice came again Naruto sighed

"Fine, have it your way coward" Naruto said and formed a number of hand seals before sighing and thrusting his hands forward

"_Kamaitachi no Jutsu_" he shouted and he could almost sense the snakes surprise as the blades of wind shredded the trees around them, Naruto watched as a shape darted out of the area of the strike, only to hear an explosion and see the flying body of the snake sannin coming towards him

"Sakura go!" he shouted and leaped, as did around twenty or so other clones, the others holding back to provide long ranged support.

He jumped into the fray, using his fox style to its full advantage, dodging and blocking Orochimaru's strikes as well as delivering his own, his seemed to be more effective thanks to the wind chakra wrapped around them thanks to his 'air palm'. It continued like this for a while, Naruto and his clones battling the snake sannin, but soon Naruto's clones started getting hit and dispersing and soon afterwards he was forced to jump back as the snake regurgitated a blade, Naruto just scrunched up his nose in disgust but made some more hand seals

"_Kaze no Yaiba_" he muttered and a blade of wind formed on his hand, Orochimaru smirked and attacked, still dodging all the kunai and stuff being thrown at him from other locations in the surrounding forest. Their blades met and Orochimaru's eyes widened when he saw that Naruto's wind blade had put a small dent into the grass cutters edge

"Nothing can't be cut by a blade of wind" Naruto said, smiling, despite the fear building within him. The snake just sneered and attacked again, Naruto dodged and jumped back

"_Mikazuki no Mai_" he said, a clone of him appeared and they attacked simultaneously and Naruto prayed the Anbu teams were close.

Sakura had arrived at the tower with Sasuke, Naruto's clones had carried them in order to make the trip faster, but one by one they had sacrificed themselves in order to allow them to arrive in the quickest time possible. Naruto grabbed the scrolls and opened them, Iruka appeared but before he could even open his mouth Naruto started talking

"Iruka-san we have a problem, my creator is fighting the snake sannin Orochimaru as we speak, and from the information I've received from other clones the battle is not going well" he said, Iruka looked at him and nodded

"I'll inform the team captains immediately" he said and pulled out a walkie-talkie

"This is Iruka, I have information regarding the intruder, he is fighting a student in the forest of death at this moment, he is apparently in section twelve-A, please be advised, do not engage until there are sufficient numbers, repeat, do not engage until we are sure of a victory" Iruka said and nodded to the clone who vanished in a burst of smoke.

Naruto was bleeding quite heavily now, multiple wounds marred his body, his had a wind blade in each hand now but he was still losing, Orochimaru was barely injured, save for the slight fracture in his skull thanks to Naruto's air bullet, and a couple broken ribs, he looked much better than Naruto and wasn't panting quite as heavily

"Ku ku ku, time to die, boy" the snake hissed and lunged, Naruto only just managed to block only to feel a kick hitting him on the chest, sending him back into a tree. He climbed out just in time to block another strike, he leapt away, his chakra blades were getting weaker as his body grew more and more tired, the grass cutter wasn't looking to good either, dents all over its blade from Naruto's blades. Naruto dodged a fire attack and then sensed a number of ninja heading in their direction, most likely Anbu, he looked at Orochimaru and smirked

"You've lost this round, snake" he told the man who sneered and put his blade away and begun sinking into the ground

"We will meet again, I assure you of that, Naruto-kun" he said and disappeared, Naruto slumped down onto his knees and allowed his wind blades to disperse, he reached into his pouch and withdrew a soldier pill and ate it, feeling its effects almost instantly as his strength returned somewhat, he stood up shakily and turned to face the wolf masked Anbu captain  
"What happened Uzumaki-san?" he asked, Naruto sighed and grimaced as another bolt of pain shot through him

"He got away sir" Naruto said simply "he sensed your arrival and disappeared" he told the Anbu captain "now, can I have some medical attention, or if not, then can I go, I still have an exam to finish you know" he said, the captain sighed and waved him off, Naruto grimaced and shot off towards the tower.

When he arrived he looked in a right state, his clothes were tattered and burnt in places, and he had a gash running from his right shoulder to his left hip along with multiple fractures. He arrived and collapsed on the floor, blacking out almost instantly, but not before he heard Iruka calling for the medical staff.

He awoke to the whiteness of a hospital room, he sighed and sat up, wincing slightly he looked over to see Anko asleep in the chair beside his bed, she looked like she'd been crying, he looked over the other side and found Sakura there, that surprised him as he thought she'd be with Sasuke. He sighed and stretched and sighed in relief as his joints popped. He lay back down and waited for someone to arrive. He only had to wait for a few minutes before Iruka arrived

"Oh, your awake Naruto, I must say you gave all of us a bit of a scare there" he said quietly, not wanting to waken either of the sleeping girls

"Sorry about that Iruka-san, but I was defending my teammates, you can't blame me for that" he told him and Iruka nodded

"Oh, and just so you know Naruto, the prelims were postponed on the Hokage's orders, stating that it would be unfair if such a 'promising ninja's career' was postponed" Iruka said smiling "But now that your awake, we can begin, I must say though, quite a few of the others still have injures, Sasuke being one of them, not everyone heals as fast as you it seems" he said and with a final smile he left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him, Naruto laid back and closed his eyes, deciding to sleep a little longer.

He awoke to the feeling of someone brushing up against him; he turned to find Anko waking up, as soon as she saw his eyes opening she hugged him tightly

"Oh my god Naru-kun, your okay" she muttered and Naruto could hear the pain in her voice, he smiled and hugged her back

"Yes Anko-chan, I'm fine" he said, but made a note in the back on his mind to ask her about why she'd broken the promise she'd made him. Sakura was woken up by the movement on the bed, she yawned and stretched and looked over to find Anko hugging Naruto rather tightly, she blushed slightly as she saw the woman's rather generous...assets peaking through the leather coat and fishnet shirt. Naruto had heard her yawn, he turned around still hugging Anko closely he smiled at her

"Good morning Sakura-chan" he said to her, she blushed slightly

"G-good morning, Naruto-san" she said, Naruto's expression suddenly took on a rather confused look

"Sakura-chan?" he asked

"Hmm?" she responded

"Why are you here and not with Sasuke?" he asked and she blushed again

"I-it's just...y-you saved both of us and almost died doing so, so I just felt I should be with you" she said, soundly slightly confused herself, Naruto smiled

"Thank you Sakura, for staying here with Anko-chan" he told her, completely serious, she blushed again and nodded, wondering why she was blushing so much around him. It was about this time when Kureani arrived, she saw Naruto awake and glomped him, not caring if Sakura was watching. Naruto groaned at the force of her hug. Eventually she let go and looked at him

"Are you okay Naru-kun?" she asked him, holding his face in her hands gently, he smiled and, using his one free hand, gently took he hand and squeezed it reassuringly

"I'm fine Kure-chan" he assured her gently, and she sighed and lay down on his chest. Sakura was fidgeting as she grew more and more uncomfortable with the situation, Naruto saw this and smiled

"If you want to leave then its fine Sakura, I'm not forcing you to stay here" he told her, Naruto had never seen anyone more as fast as Sakura did right then, she appeared to teleport to the other side of the room and in the blink of an eye she was gone, Naruto simply chuckled and held his two girlfriends closer to him, sighing contentedly.

A few hours later and Naruto, and all the rest who had survived the forest of death were gathering in the arena, waiting the final pairing of opponents

"Okay *cough* the matches will be random *cough* paired by the computer *cough* the match will continue unless one of you is either dead of incapacitated or I think you've lost or won *cough* now get going" he said and they all jumped up to the viewing area, the computer screen activated and names flashed up

"first match..." the examiner said and everyone held their collective breaths "would Kiba-san and Naruto-san come down please" he said, Kiba whooped and said something about getting off easy, Sasuke and Sakura both just looked at him like he was stupid and Anko laughed while Kureani chuckled darkly. Naruto sighed and jumped down

"First match.....begin!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Everyone was holding their collective breaths as they waited for the examiner to start the match. Naruto was calm and collected whereas Kiba was excited, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, the air wasn't as tense as it could of been though

"Hajime!" the examiner finally shouted while jumping out of the way. Kiba darted forwards, his fist already cocked back to hit Naruto, however Naruto just stood perfectly still, his eyes never leaving Kiba, waiting until the very last moment before ducking Kiba's punch and delivering a sickening punch to his gut, following it up with a swift kick to the head before spinning away just as Akamaru dived in to protect his master. Naruto then got back into position quickly before Kiba could get up.

Most of the gathered ninja were in shock, the 'dead last' had just damaged Kiba quite badly with only two solid hits. Kiba growled and got back up and put his hands together to perform a technique, but before he could begin Naruto had moved at frightening speeds, reappearing in front of Kiba before the poor sod had a chance to realise what was going on and slammed his fist into Kiba's face, Akamaru dived towards Naruto but he just span away, back-flipping away to land a good three or so metres away from Kiba who was now finding it hard to get up

"Examiner" Naruto said, getting everyone's attention "if he doesn't stop soon, I'll have to really hurt him" he told the man who sighed and went to call it when Kiba suddenly shot up, snarling, and leapt towards Naruto's back. Naruto span around quickly and backhanded him across the face, sending him across the floor. The examiner saw the power behind the hit and called it

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" he yelled out, silence followed, Naruto walked slowly back up to where his 'team' was and sat down on the hard ground and leaned back up against the wall behind him, closing his eyes he fell into a light sleep, ignoring the stares being pointed his way, only to be awoken by someone shouting something, he opened his eyes and looked down and instantly he was awake, Neji's fist was travelling towards Hinata's heart. Before anyone, even the Anbu, could blink Naruto had vanished, reappearing just in time to prevent the strike from touching Hinata, Neji growled but Naruto was busy.

He leaned down over Hinata as the medics began to arrive

"She's going into shock, her heartbeat's becoming erratic" he said, his voice eerily calm and soft, so like the calm before the storm. He got up as the medics began to attend to Hinata

"She was destined to lose" a snobbish voice said, and Naruto remembered Neji was behind him. He turned slowly and everyone, even the gathered jonin, flinched at the swiftly climbing killing intent

"You are weak and a coward Neji, for only a weak person blames things on 'fate' and 'destiny', such things do not exist and are only fictional" he growled and Neji's smirk was wiped away instantly

"What do you know...?" Neji began to ask

"More than you, that's for sure" Naruto retorted and suddenly the intent was gone "but, it does not matter at the moment, but if I _ever _meet you on the battlefield" he said, the intent suddenly spiking again, and a slightly maddened look coming into his eyes "and I'll make sure to rip out those ever so precious eyes of yours" and with that he vanished, Anko was quick to follow him, as was Kureani, leaving behind a terrified Neji and a shocked audience.

Anko and Kureani found Naruto just outside of the tower, resting against a tree, the sunlight filtering through the trees bathing him in a golden light that caused the two girls to pause for a moment to admire the view, but only for a second. They approached Naruto and sat down, one of them on each side of him; Anko put her head in his lap while Kureani rested against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around him. Naruto sighed and wrapped an arm around Kureani, his other hand going down to stroke Anko's hair gently

"What's wrong Naru-kun?" Kureani asked Naruto softly, Anko chuckled

"Is it because that Neji kid hurt Hinata?" she asked, Naruto's hand removed itself from her hair and she opened her eyes, looking up to find Naruto glaring at her, she gulped

"If I remember correctly, you broke a certain promise to me, didn't you?" he asked and Anko once more felt that guilt welling up in her chest, she sat up and looked away from him

"Why'd you do it, Anko-chan?" he asked her, sighing heavily, almost like it was all too much for him

"I-I _had_ to, I _had_ to get him back for what he did to me" she mumbled, Naruto sighed heavily again and put his head in his free hand  
"oh yeah, and you did that very well" he mumbled, Anko growled threateningly, he looked at her and growled back, the danger in his eyes warning her back

"I've been betrayed too many time's Anko-san, and I promise the next person to do it will suffer like no one has ever suffered before except in hell" he said and Anko looked away, both ashamed and guilty now

"I'm sorry" she muttered and Naruto sighed softly, pulling her back down so he could stroke her hair

"I know you are, but don't do it again, 'kay?" he asked her softly and Anko nodded, closing her eyes, allowing the feeling of Naruto's hand running through her hair to send her off to sleep.

A month, Naruto had a month to prepare himself for the final test, he couldn't go on any missions according to the rules and so he was stuck in Kohana until he finished the exam. Which meant he was going to be bored for the next thirty days, although his clones had been scouting around and he had found some rather interesting information, not least that the sound and sand were working together for something, Naruto had a good idea of what it was, but right now he was more interested in what was below him. Namely Anko and Kureani in the hot springs, no, he wasn't peeping, they'd explicitly asked him to keep watch for any perverts and Naruto was more than happy to. He closed his eyes to prevent himself seeing anything too…distracting, and instead concentrated on the chakra signatures around him and the hot springs.

He eventually felt a chakra signature beside the fence that surrounded the hot spring, his advanced hearing picked up the sound of perverted giggling. He sighed and vanished from the roof of the hot springs, reappearing beside the white haired man and kicking him suddenly in the face.

The man was so distracted he couldn't defend himself and was sent flying into a nearby tree, making a rather loud bang

"Who's there…Naru-kun?" he heard Kureani ask from in the hot spring

"Don't worry Kure-chan, just some white haired pervert" he told her and he could suddenly hear his two girls growling. They appeared beside him with towels wrapped around their naked frames. And Naruto couldn't help but take a look at his girls; they were, after all, _his_.

"This is going to be fun" Anko hissed, licking a kunai she had pulled from somewhere on her person

"Yes it is" Kureani agreed, sounding just as scary as Anko and Naruto smirked at the poor man's misfortune, he turned to go only to be spun back around and have Anko kiss him full on the lips followed by Kureani. He was dazed for a few moments after that

"Wow, um, girls?" he asked getting their attention "not that I mind and all, but what was that for?" he asked and Kureani sent the white haired man, who now bound to a tree, a sharp glare

"He's been peeking on this hot spring for a while now, we've being trying to catch him for a while now, and thanks to you Naru-kun, we have" she told him and Naruto nodded in understanding

"Okay then, have fun" he said and disappeared, followed by the man's cries and screams of pain.

The next few days passed with nothing much happening, Kureani had to train her team and Anko was needed in the Anbu I.T. division. But one day it just got too much and Naruto decided to visit Kureani and her team.

When he arrived he found Hinata missing and Kiba standing there with bandages around his face, Shino looked the least damaged of the two, making Naruto chuckled as he arrived. He appeared behind Kureani and wrapped his arms around her, she tensed and was about to hit him before he spoke

"Shh, Kure-chan" he muttered into her ear, she relaxed as Kiba jumped out of his skin and Shino merely raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh, Naru-kun, you surprised me there, why are you here?" Kureani asked him and he groaned

"I'm bored" he whined and Kureani chuckled

"You could always…" she started but Naruto interrupted

"Nope, I am not training anyone" he told her and she sighed

"But I've got to train these two" she told him and he sighed but then perked up

"Hey, I know, you finish with these two and then come over my place" he told her and then leaned in closely to her ear, breathing over it, sending shivers down her spine "I'll have something for you" he told her and then vanished.

Later that day, just before the sun was to begin to set Kureani arrived at Naruto's apartment, she knocked

"It's open" Naruto's voice called to her from inside his apartment, she stepped in, it looked same as always and she began to wonder what on earth Naruto had planned for her

"In the bedroom" his voice called to her again and she walked over the bedroom and opened the door. She gasped, it was beautiful, the sheets were a delicate red with blood red rose petals sprinkled over them, the scent of lavender filled the room as candles threw a soft light over everything.

"You like?" Naruto asked her softly as he appeared from where he'd been making the final preparations, he wore only his trousers, and Kureani couldn't stop herself from staring at his body. Naruto chuckled when he saw what she was looking at

"Come here, Kure-hime" he told her simply, opening his arms and she obeyed without thinking, falling gently into his arms, their lips meeting in a soft kiss filled with all the emotion Kureani sometimes kept bottled up, Naruto pulled away gently and looked into her eyes

"You remember that massage I gave Anko-chan?" he asked her and she nodded, and then froze, looking into his eyes and he nodded and she moved. With barely a thought she stripped down and lay face down on the bed, Naruto chuckled

"A bit anxious, aren't we?" Naruto chuckled and Kureani just mewled pleadingly, he chuckled gently and got some essential oils and rubbed them onto his hands, he then began to softly rub Kureani's back, she moaned slightly as he started to loosen the tight muscles in her back, he then allowed one of his hands to drift up to her neck to softly massage it, she whimpered at the sensations of pleasure that were beginning to build up in her body as his hands began to drift slowly downwards at an almost frustratingly slow pace. Naruto's lips descended onto her soft flesh, making her gasp every time he kissed her. He bypassed her ass and settled instead for massaging her legs, first the left one, stopping at the end to gently kiss his way back down, making her shiver in wanton pleasure, before going up and doing the same thing to her right leg. He eventually finished with her legs and slowly began to move up again, pausing to softly begin to massage her firm ass, he smiled at the cute sounds she was making and kissed each of her cheeks, moving up some more he leaned down and turned her over. He took a step back and admired the angelic form laid out before him, allowing his eyes to feast and take in every last curve and delicious point on her glorious body.

He leaned down once more and kissed her soft lips again, allowing his tongue to softly intrude into her warm moist cavern as she mewled gently into his mouth as his hands began to softly massage her arms before softly gliding over her shoulders and onto her breasts. Naruto smirked as he thought about how her breasts were ever so slightly larger than Anko's, he leant down once more and gently took one of her nipples into his mouth, he savored her surprised gasp as it was cut short by a moan of pleasure from what he was doing to her. He let his right hand gently glide back down her smooth body and grab onto her ass as Kureani tried to thrust upwards with him pinning her down. He could hear her moans becoming more frantic, her breathing becoming more labored, he switched sides and she came. Her back arching and her toes curling as she screamed out his name.

She eventually came down from her high, with Naruto softly kissing and licking at her neck

"Enjoy your gift, hime?" he asked, Kureani just nodded tiredly and pressed him into her more than ample bosom as she fell asleep, Naruto smiled and thought about just how many people would kill to be in his position right now.

The rest of the month passed by at a snail's pace for Naruto, having nothing to do for once, even training.

But eventually, after a whole month of waiting Naruto was summoned to the arena. He walked out into the open area and stood there with the other contestants, all of whom seemed to be nervous in some shape or form, all except the unshakable Shino and, of course, Naruto himself.

They had to sit and listen to the examiner as the rules were explained, Naruto nearly fell asleep, but, finally, they were ready to begin and the other contestant's left as Naruto and Neji stood still facing each other

"It is your fate to..." Neji began only to be cut off Naruto yawning loudly

"Your belief in fate bores me Neji-_chan_" Naruto said, his expression one of pure and absolute boredom, easily irking the young prodigy, making him glare at Naruto "the belief in fate one brought about by weakness, only the weak believe in fate and abide by it, your weak because, with you shitty excuse for fate, you can tell yourself that your never responsible for anything bad that ever happens" Naruto said, his tone becoming hard at the end as he took up his stance, wind already beginning to whip around his hands in preparation for his fight, Neji sneered in disgust at him as he took up his own gentle fist stance

"Ready...begin" the examiner shouted while jumping back as Naruto wasted no time, shooting forwards at an almost unbelievable speed, easily landing a solid hit to Neji's chest, sending him sprawling back a good two or three metres as the pale eyes boy coughed up some blood. The crowd was in shock from watching just that one hit, Anko and Kureani just smirked at the shocked expressions of the council.

While this was going on Neji had managed to right himself and was now staring at Naruto's serious eyes, Neji roared and struck out, trying to get Naruto within his field of divination but Naruto only continued to dance out of reach

"Do not try it Neji, I have been studying your clan for the past month when I wasn't...doing...other things" he said, a slightly perverted grin appearing on his face as both Kureani and Anko laughed heartily at his choice of words. Neji's brain barely had enough time to process what Naruto meant before he was hit by another blast of wind, but this one was much more powerful than the last, and easily sent him hurtling back into the wall of the stadium. Naruto's smile was gone, and once more his eyes were cold and set like stone

"Give up Neji, or I _will_ kill you, the only reason I haven't so far is for two particular reasons, first and foremost, you're not worth the effort, and two, Hinata would not like me to end your life, it's as simple as that" he growled out, the KI he was now releasing was making it hard for Neji to breath

"Surrender" Naruto growled, his voice taking on a demonic edge, Neji couldn't take it anymore. He raised his hand shakily

"I surrender" he muttered much to the shock of all those present

"Winner Uzumaki Naruto" the examiner exclaimed, only to find Naruto had already left and was now back up in the stands with his two girlfriends.

The rest of the exam passed by at a snail's pace for Naruto, who was swiftly growing bored at the slow pace of events. He wanted to watch as Sasuke got his ass handed to him by that dodgy sand ninja.

His patience, despite him being with the two most desirable females in Kohana, was being tested beyond breaking point and he was beginning to consider going out and finding Sasuke and dragging his ass here himself when finally there was a puff of smoke and two recognisable figures appeared, Naruto growled before relaxing himself, preparing himself to watch a good fight, after all, it was always fun to watch the stuck up Uchiha get his ass kicked now and again.

He supposed it was to be expected that this would happen, sand and sound joining together to attack Kohana, after all, the snake was _very_ good at manipulating people. So when the fighting started, Naruto teleported right to where the Hokage was, just as the purple barrier was put up. He then sighed

"damn, should of sent someone after the sand ninja, hmm" he thought to himself, ignoring the two men who were looking at him in slight surprise for Sarutobi, and pure annoyance for Orochimaru, he then snapped his fingers and a shadow clone appeared, it then almost immediately dispersed itself

"That should get my orders to the other clones" he muttered to himself, and the Hokage found himself almost applauding the boy's ingenuity, before he then turned back to his former student, who appeared to be in the midst of preparing something, he recognised the seals almost immediately and tried to stop it, but just when it seemed he wasn't going to get there in time a blur of yellow and black shot past him and smashed the two coffins before they could open just as he managed to stop the third from even coming up. Orochimaru hissed in annoyance at the boy as he pulled his slightly battered sword out from his mouth and lunged at Naruto, who smirked,

"Die" he hissed back as he brought forth two wind blades without the hand signs and shot forward to engage Orochimaru in sword combat.

Meanwhile, Anko and Kureani had rushed into the forest to aid in the 'subjugation' of Garaa, by order of Naruto, or rather, one of his clones. They were shocked at the boy's state, his body already more than half covered by sand, Sakura was pinned to a tree and Sasuke looked like he'd been thrown around like a rag doll

"Shit" Anko growled lowly and Kureani nodded slowly, the boy seemed to finally notice them

"Blood!" he roared and sand shot out towards them, forcing the two ladies to jump away or risk being impaled with sand, Anko pulled out some kunai and sent them towards the boy as Kureani flashed through some hand seals, desperately trying to pull off a Genjutsu to try and pin the maddened boy down. But to both her and Anko's shock the boy just laughed madly and swung his sand again, and they were forced to move again as the sand easily destroyed their hiding place and most of the trees surrounding it

"Blood, mother wants your blood!" Garaa screamed again and lunged out, only this time, one of the sand shirikun struck Anko in the leg, she screamed in pain as she fell down, Kureani watched in horror as she sand was only moments away from engulfing Anko, when suddenly a blade of wind flew out from the tree line and severed the hand of sand, both of the ladies turned and almost screamed in relief as they saw a group of about thirty Naruto clones appear from the tree line. Around half were wielding blades of wind while the other half prepared a technique

"_Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu_" the clones all shouted at once, and both Anko and Kureani watched in shock and awe as around fifteen giant fireballs were sent hurtling towards the sand covered boy, who had barely enough time to throw up a shield of sand before the immense amount of fire struck it.

Anko and Kureani watched with bated breath as the smoke began to clear, only to gasp as Garaa appeared, the sand on his body had been turned to glass and before the boy could make another move, another Naruto clone landed before him and rammed a air bullet straight into the boy's chest, sending him hurtling backwards into several trees before coming to rest. A Naruto clone jumped down to Anko and Kureani, his eyes dead serious

"You two need to get out of here" he told them, his voice as serious as his eyes, Kureani took one look at him and nodded, jumping down to Anko she picked up her friend and leaped back into the trees. The Naruto that had spoken to them turned to face where Garaa had fallen, only to watch as a mass of sand erupted out, forcing him and the other clones to jump away or be crushed, two weren't quick enough and were destroyed swiftly by the wave of sand. They all watched as the sand began to shift and take shape, becoming the form of the great one-tailed sand demon, the clones swiftly moved into action

"_I'm free_!" the booming voice of the demon wailed as the clones prepared themselves and began. The demon looked down to see them and laughed, but before it could open it's mouth to start talking again the clones struck, fifteen clones all breathed in deeply and spat out another group of giant fireballs, making the great demon laugh as he knew those by themselves would do almost no damage to his body. But the clones had other plans, eight clones on each side of the fire had no finished their own technique

"_Fūton: Daitoppa_" they shouted, and watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the wind easily whipped the fire balls into a massive fire storm that rather easily consumed the demon. While that happened one clone was preparing itself to get Garaa out of that thing. So as the smoke cleared an the giant glass figure of the once great demon could be seen with just a small amount of sand in the centre and on the back where Garaa was, the clone struck, shooting up the now slippery surface it reached Garaa quickly and punched him…hard, sending the, now awake, boy straight down to the forest floor where he impacted it with no small amount of force to say the least. Naruto jumped down after him and the clone, along with four others, surrounded the boy just as his two, rather beat siblings, appeared

"Wai…" was all Temari managed to say before being silenced by one of the clones cold glances. Naruto leaned down to the boy to speak to him

"Strength is born from the urge to protect something more important than yourself Garaa, remember that, you were going to harm two very important people in my life, that's why I came" he said to the prone boy, who by now was beginning to slip into unconsciousness thanks to his injures, the only keeping him awake being the fear of sleep. Naruto then stood up and turned to Temari and pointed to Garaa  
"Take him and take care of him" he said before all the clones vanished in bursts of smoke.

Naruto was breathing heavily, sweat was dripping slowly from his body as he stared at the snake in front of him, who was also breathing heavily and looked just as beat up as Naruto, Sarutobi was unable to do much, mainly for fear of striking Naruto and killing him. They two opponents slowly circled each other, their eyes never leaving one another's. Suddenly Naruto lunged forward, blocking the grass cutter, his second sword only just managing to graze the pale man, who then lunged back, only managing to graze Naruto as well. The two opponents appeared evenly matched, and Orochimaru was quickly running out of options, Naruto suddenly smirked

"Bad luck, Hebi-teme, it appears my clones have just finished off Garaa" Naruto chuckled and Orochimaru cursed lowly, his plan was ruined, Kohana's forces had rallied much quicker than expected and the boy in front of him had managed to remove his weapon before it could even touch Kohana itself. He growled and made a motion with his hand, Naruto however, wasn't having any of it, and lunged forward while he was distracted, easily slicing off one of the snakes arms, before spinning and throwing a poisoned kunai at the other one.

"Damn you!" Orochimaru screamed in pain, knowing that not even his own personal medic would be able to give him back a missing arm, meaning that now he'd have to accelerate his other plans and change bodies much earlier than planned. The barrier was dropped and the four sound ninja jumped in and two grabbed their leader before they all vanished in a burst of speed, leaving an out of breath and tired Naruto, and a shocked Hokage who could only stare at what Naruto had done to his former student

"Damn" he heard Naruto hiss, and he turned, confused "should of used a stronger poison" he sighed before collapsing, just as Anko and Kureani arrived

"Naruto!" was all he heard, before drifting into sweet unconsciousness.

Naruto woke up once more to the sight of that accursed white ceiling and the feeling of two people snuggled up with him. He sighed as he recognised their scents, Kureani and Anko. He turned his head and closed his arms around them, softly breathing in the scent of lavender from Kureani's hair, the two girls moved closer to him and he smiled, closing his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep once more, thinking that maybe, just maybe, everything might actually be alright in the end.

He awoke once more, to find his two women gone, he grunted as he pushed himself up, a nurse came in and saw him, looking slightly startled that he could heal so quickly

'_Must be a new one'_ Naruto thought to himself with slight sarcasm, she quickly recovered from her shock and disappeared, most likely to go and inform the Hokage and Naruto sighed as he finally managed to life himself up into a sitting position. Just then the door opened and the Hokage appeared, moving quickly the old man embraced Naruto as Naruto hugged him back

"You feeling okay, Naruto?" the man Naruto though off as a grandfather asked, Naruto smiled and nodded gratefully

"Yeah Sarutobi, I'm good, but what about you?" he asked and the aging man sighed heavily, sitting down beside Naruto on the bed

"I'm tired my boy, I'm getting to old to be running this village" he told Naruto who nodded in all seriousness, already knowing how old the man was

"Who's going to take over?" he asked and the old man sighed again

"I don't know yet, but I'm pretty sure Jiraiya won't take it due to his 'other' activities, so that only leave's me with Tsunade, but no one knows where she is at the moment, although Jiraiya as offered to go track her down" he told Naruto who nodded

"Want me to go with him?" he asked the old man who looked ready to protest "after all, I'm quite...persuasive, when I want to be, aren't I?" he asked the man, who could only agree with the boy, thinking back to just how many times Naruto had been able to talk his way out of trouble when he had been young, and nodded reluctantly

"Fine, you can go with him, just don't do anything too...stressing, I'm sure your girlfriends wouldn't appreciate another scare" he told Naruto who couldn't suppress a shudder at what his girlfriends would probably do to him if he scared them like that again and the Hokage chuckled gently before standing up

"You leave in the morning my boy, I'll see you soon" he said and left, Naruto sighed and got up

"It's just one thing after another right now" he muttered to himself as he got dressed while deciding he needed to pay a visit to 'his' girls.

Naruto left the hospital, and after stretching his muscles that had been unused for another two days, he decided to search for Anko as she had been injured fighting with Garaa and then find Kureani. And so, with that, he shot off in the general direction of Anko's apartment.

The day was a nice one again, the sun was shining brightly despite the loss of life that the village had encountered at the hands of the sound-sand invasion force, and a cool wind passed Naruto as he sailed through the village towards Anko's apartment.

He arrived within a few minutes, landing lightly outside her front door, he knocked lightly and waited, and was rather pleasantly surprised when Kureani opened the door and he looked into the apartment and found Anko lying of the sofa watching television in only a shirt and boxers

"Good morning Kure-hime" he greeted her, kissing her softly as she let him into the apartment, he walked over to Anko silently, motioning for Kureani to remain silent she nodded and stifled her giggle slightly

"Who was it Kure-chan?" Anko asked, turning to her friend who waved her off

"Just some guy" she said and Anko just nodded, although she couldn't hide the slightly disappointed look that it hadn't been Naruto coming to visit. Naruto slowly raised himself up and peered over the back of the sofa to see the look on Anko's face, he smiled gently and reached out, covering he eyes gently, and before she could make a move, his lips descended onto hers. She relaxed instantly at the feel of his lips and sighed contentedly into his mouth as he removed his hand from her eyes and peered into her eyes as he broke off the kiss

"Good morning, Anko-hime" he mumbled, pressing his forehead against hers as she sighed again

"You bastard" she muttered he chuckled softly

"Sorry sexy, but you just looked to cute for me to resist" he told her and she blushed at the complement.

Naruto quickly repositioned Anko so that she was laying in his lap with his left hand caressing her soft lavender hair, he motioned for Kureani to sit next to him, once she did she rested her head on his right shoulder as Naruto wrapped his free arm around her and he sighed contentedly, closing his eyes as he sat there with the two most important people in his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sorry about the chapter being kind of short, by I've had quite a bit of trouble with this one, and my writing time is kind of being restricted at the moment as well.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews and comments, I really appreciate them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Naruto strode along with the toad sannin at his side. They were headed for a rather large town that was apparently quite the gambling den, and as Jiraiya had so kindly pointed out, Tsunade wasn't known as the 'legendary sucker' for nothing after all.

It was a beautiful day as they walked towards the town, they had passed others, and Jiraiya had quickly discovered that while with Naruto, peeking sure as hell wasn't the best idea in the world. And as such they had made swift progress, even with Naruto walking slower than normal, having to concentrate on trying to learn the technique the forth himself had created, he found it surprisingly hard, but with three or four clones helping it he was already onto the third stage and well on his way to mastering it. A soft breeze passed along the path they were travelling, neither said anything to each other, both comfortable to be lost in their own thoughts. Jiraiya had seen what the boy could do, and after realising how powerful he was and who he was he had offered to teach him both the summoning contract and the rasengan, Naruto had simply refused the first on grounds that summoning something to fight for you wasn't cool and that he had already beaten the one tailed demon in a one on one battle, however he accepted the second option with no small amount of enthusiasm and had Jiraiya speechless at how quickly he was learning the technique.

"So Jiraiya-san, any idea as to _where_ in this town we'll find Tsunade?" he asked the sannin, shaking the man out of his thoughts on his latest novel

"Huh, oh right, yeah, um...she'll either be in some bar getting plastered of she'll be in the largest casino in that town, racking up her debts" he told Naruto, who, though still concentrating on the ball of blue chakra in his hand, nodded and smiled

"Seems to me your all rather weird you sannin, the snakes a paedophile, you're a pervert, and Tsunade has the worst luck ever" he said and Jiraiya chuckled a bit at that, agreeing with the kid somewhat. He was still slightly surprised that Naruto treated him with a fair amount of respect, not as much as everyone else, but at least he didn't call him a pervert when girls were around. And he had to admit that the brat had a point when he had told Jiraiya to earn his respect, since Naruto never _gave_ respect, _that_, Jiraiya could relate to.

When they eventually arrived in the town they'd been walking towards, Naruto had finally got the damned ball of chakra to a stable norm, and shocking Jiraiya even more at the sheer speed he'd completed something that took even him a good while to get.

"Well" Naruto said to him once they'd arrived "I suggest that we both split up and search for Tsunade, she can't be that hard to spot after all" he said and Jiraiya nodded in agreement, for once not thinking about peeking sine Naruto would most likely hunt him down again, which was not something he wanted to experience again for at least a few more days. And with that said they both went their separate ways to find the, oh so infamous, slug princess.

Naruto wandered down the busy streets, looking around at the shops while his clones observed from the roofs of the building, he was looking for Tsunade but had decided that while he was here, that he should probably buy a few gifts for his girls. As he strolled through the bustling streets thinking about what to buy them both he had his thoughts drift to his favourite pastime save for being with his two girls, training, more specifically, how to add his wind into the rasengan, after all, Jiraiya had said that it was only part way complete, and as such Naruto had the suspicion that adding elemental chakra to it was the next step in the process, now, he already had a pretty good grasp on the manipulation of elemental chakra, so it shouldn't take him too long to get it to work, once that was done , then he could see how else he could manipulate it.

Night fell surprisingly quickly for Naruto, he was satisfied though, even after failing to find Tsunade, he had brought Kureani some rather nice perfume that he knew she loved but didn't buy, always claiming she didn't need such 'materialistic' things, he had also brought her a rather nice kimono that would complement with the red colour of her eyes beautifully. He had then brought something more...practical, for Anko, a kunai set that had seals that allowed them to return to their holding seal once used, along with a rather nice necklace with a snake instead of a normal decoration, it had red ruby's for its eyes and some rather beautiful green emeralds interspersed amongst its scales, oh, and a ring for Kureani and Anko, but that was a different matter entirely.

He walked around with the stuff safely sealed into a storage scroll, following Jiraiya's scent until he came upon a rather moderately sized bar with a man shaped hole in one wall. He walked in and saw Jiraiya at one of the tables off to the side, talking to Tsunade, and another girl who Naruto guessed was Shizune, according to Jiraiya's descriptions of them anyway.

He moved over and could hear that Tsunade's voice was slightly slurred from the amount of alcohol she just been consuming, he sat down next to Jiraiya and leaned back, Jiraiya looked at him for a second before turning back to Tsunade, who hadn't taken her eyes off Jiraiya all the way through the, at the moment, rather one-sided conversation

"I won't go back Jiraiya" she eventually said "that village took far too much from me, and the idea of me being the Hokage is simply laughable, why the fuck would I want a job that's both idiotic and has a one hundred percent fatality rate?" she asked but Naruto raised his hand before Jiraiya could begin to speak again and looked at Tsunade hard

"You are scared" he said bluntly, shocking the three present at the table "you fear the memories that place holds for you. But you a nothing more than a coward, you choose to run from your problems, the two people you speak of, whose deaths you would spit on" he growled and Tsunade nearly lost it, only to be restrained by both Shizune and Jiraiya, Naruto stood up and looked her dead in the eye

"You're afraid, that's all there is to it, someone like you has no right to protect anyone. I bet you those two are rolling in their graves now" he said and before anyone could blink Naruto was sent flying through a wall and out of the bar and into the street. Tsunade glared after him and walked towards the boy, who she was surprised to see getting up, even after she had punched him at nearly full strength. He sighed and stood up; cracking his neck once he looked at her with fire in his eyes

"I want to make a deal with you, Tsunade of the sannin" he told her, shocking everyone there, she glared at the boy who spat out a mouthful of blood

"What sort of bet?" she asked cautiously "and what are the prises?" she asked and Naruto chuckled softly

"I bet than when you meet Orochimaru in a few days" he said shocking both of the sannin at the fact he knew that "that I'll be able to put down his medic and keep him busy" he said and she scoffed, Jiraiya however, smiled at the boy's ingenuity, he knew that Tsunade would underestimate his strength and as such this bet was already heavily in his favour

"And if you lose?" she asked and he looked her dead in the eye

"I'll pay of fall your debts" he told her and she gasped, before smiling and shaking his hand

"You got yourself a deal, gaki" she said and Naruto smiled

"I'll see in a week's time then" he said and vanished.

The week pasted quickly for Naruto, who was too busy training to notice much else but his progress, he had being trying to add elemental chakra into the rasengan, he had quickly decided against that idea, especially after his arm got shredded by its sheer power. Instead he now turned his thoughts to a flying version of it, at first it seemed impossible, as the user had to stabilise it constantly or it would lose its shape and power almost immediately. But then he'd had an idea, he needed to stabilise the core, if he could do that then the rest would be simple, in theory anyway.

So he began, and for six days solid he had practised, he was getting there, but it still wasn't fast enough the survive for more than one or two seconds after it had left his hand, not ideal exactly, but good enough for now.

He returned to the hotel him and his sensei were staying at and almost immediately fell asleep.

He awoke the next day with the sun shining brightly into his eyes, Shizune was next to him on a chair, his sensei appeared to also be out of it, but Tsunade was nowhere to be seen. Naruto groaned and palmed his face. He sat up groaning and turned to Jiraiya

"Wake up!" he yelled startling both Shizune and his sensei awake

"What the hell gaki!" Jiraiya shouted at his student, Naruto just pointed to the bed where Tsunade was meant to be and both of them shut up

"Damn it" Naruto heard his sensei mutter before he turned to him "come on kid, we've got a bet to win" he growled and Naruto smirked as both of them, followed swiftly by Shizune, took to the roof tops and began to rush over to where Tsunade was supposed to meet Orochimaru.

They arrived at the place to find the walls had been smashed and damaged beyond all repair

"Damn it, where are they?" Jiraiya groaned, Naruto tilted his head and listened, the sounds of battle could be heard and a smell of snake originated from the location

"This way" he told the two people at his side, they followed without a question, Jiraiya because he was already aware of Naruto's incredible senses and Shizune because he did.

They had finally found her, standing in a field where she was facing Orochimaru, or rather had been, for now her face was a white as paper and Naruto knew the reason why, you didn't have to be psychic to see it, Kabuto had slit open his own arm, and was moving in to kill Tsunade. Naruto snarled and lifted his hand; a ball of blue energy that was swirling extremely fast appeared

"Time to die" Kabuto whispered to Tsunade. He never stood a chance in hell, one moment he was facing a paralysed slug sannin, the next he felt something extremely powerful hit his stomach and send him spinning with no small amount of force straight into a boulder easily one and a half metres thick. He collapsed, out of the fight for the moment. Orochimaru was beyond annoyed now, here, standing before him, was the apparent bane of his very existence on this earth, the one who had taken his arms from him, and put his medic, it seemed, out of commission for a little while.

Naruto stood there in front of Tsunade, his right side slouched from ramming the rasengan into Kabuto, his bangs covering his eyes in shadow

"Neh, Tsunade-san?" he said as the sannin looked up in awe, both at who her savour was and what he had just used, he stood up and, cracking his neck, faced Kabuto's prone form "could you get over your fear already, I really can't protect myself and you at the same time" he told her, but the bright smile and warmth in his eyes took the sharpness off of the statement. Tsunade could only nod absentmindedly

"Yo sensei, could you take care of the paedophile over there?" Naruto shouted over to Jiraiya who nodded and cracked his knuckles

"It would be my pleasure" he muttered as Shizune ran over to Tsunade and began checking her over for any injuries. Naruto watched with a raised eyebrow as Kabuto stood up, although his legs appeared rather shaky

"Let's go" Naruto said as he crouched down and the wind picked up around him, Kabuto grinned and his hands glowed green as he shot forth, determined to kill Naruto, or at least maim him in some unspeakable way. But it was not to be, Naruto's face had become cold and as he stepped forward and thrust his palm out towards Kabuto, the air bullet hit Kabuto square in the face, sending him back with a broken nose. Naruto carried on, he appeared to be dancing, and it could of looked incredibly beautiful if not for the obvious damage it was doing to Kabuto who looked as if he was being pounded by an invisible and unstoppable opponent before he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared at his masters side and applied some blood to the snake contract on Orochimaru's arm. There was a massive burst of smoke, which sent the part of Naruto's brain that wasn't concentrated on fighting onto wondering if all this smoke could be detrimental to his health, and suddenly there stood/laid Manda. Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had apparently been shaken out of her blood induced shock after Naruto's little speech, also slammed their hands down onto the ground and summoned their own personal summons. Naruto jumped up onto the toad bosses head

"Yo boss" he greeted the giant toad who looked up at him and smiled slightly

"Yo Naruto" he greeted back before turning to face the giant snake facing him, and the summoner on top of its head, he pulled his knife from his belt and stood ready. Orochimaru was about to start talking when suddenly two things happened at once that no one saw coming in the slightest. One was that a Naruto clone suddenly appeared behind the two people on the snakes head and slammed a fully formed rasengan down onto its head, and second was that Naruto suddenly seemed to teleport in front of Orochimaru with a manic glint in his eyes and a wild grin on his face

"Surprise!" he shouted and rammed a rasengan into the snake sannin's stomach, forcing him off of the snake summon and towards the ground, a few metres off of the ground he pushed forwards and let the sphere go, much to the shock of the onlookers, and almost a second later, and just before the snake was about to hit the ground, the sphere destabilised and a massive explosion engulfed the snake summoner. Hell, if he wasn't going to hit the ground hard originally, he certainly did then. Naruto smiled wildly as he estimated the force the snake had hit the ground must have been something similar to having a piano fall on top of you from sixty odd feet.

He wasn't surprised when the snake-man/thing sat up and, with the help of his right hand man, got out of the hole

"I'll get you soon enough, Uzumaki" the man growled as they both sank into the ground.

Naruto looked up into the sky and smiled as the cooling breeze brushed past him, the clouds that had been gathering suddenly seemed to dissipate at his victory and Naruto smiled wildly and relaxed as he turned around and walked over to the small group of three people who were looking at him in shock

"Shall we get going?" he asked, snapping them all out of it

"Gaki...how the hell...?" Jiraiya tried to ask him, he smiled

"Well, I tried adding elemental chakra to it, but that was a bit dangerous to my health, so instead I tried to make it so that I could launch it at my enemies" he said, shocking them once again "I found that it was impossible because it would destabilise and explode as soon as it left my hand, so I tried to make it more stable, I found that if I increase the speed of the rotation in the ball itself, then it becomes more stable, and quite a bit more powerful than the original" he told them and his sensei beamed in pride at him, slinging an arm around his shoulder he laughed

"Good work gaki, not only did you learn the damned thing and make it better, but you manage to hold off _both_ Orochimaru and Kabuto" he said "that, I think, is reason enough to drink" he cheered, Naruto just smiled and chuckled at his sensei's antics, the then turned to Tsunade and looked at her smugly

"I guess that means I've won the bet then" he said, she smiled and shook her head, ruffling his hair she laughed and put her arm around his other shoulder

"Yeah yeah gaki, now, sake!" she shouted, Naruto laughed as Shizune attempted to tell Tsunade off and shook his head, absentmindedly wondering about his girls and how they were doing.

After a night of drunkenness on Tsunade and Jiraiya's part, Naruto couldn't get drunk it would seem, and Shizune refused to drink, the group of two sannin's and two apprentices made their way back to Konoha. Tsunade laughed heartily when Naruto told her why Jiraiya hadn't been peeping for the past few days as did Shizune, Jiraiya just huffed and said something about disrespectful students.

The day was beautiful, the sun shone in the sky and a cool breeze stirred the leaves and made the shadows dance as a pair of swallows swooped gracefully overhead, Naruto breathed in deep and sighed happily, enjoying the forest as him and his companions arrived at the gates to Konoha.

After a brief flurry of activity, once Tsunade revealed who she was, Naruto was on the prowl, seeking out his two most precious people on the earth with a determination that made you wonder if he wasn't out to kill somebody.

He eventually found them, in that same old dango stand, he almost groaned at not checking here first, but he swiftly pushed those thoughts aside in favour of more pleasing ones. He formed a shadow clone and gave it some orders. And as one, they crept up behind the two girls and before either could give the other a warning they had sprung, they covered the eyes of their respective girl and before they could protest, kissed them with a gentle possessiveness that neither of the girls had the will or strength to fight against.

After a few moments he pulled away and sat down beside Anko as his clone took the seat next to Kureani, the girls sighed and leant their heads on their respective Naruto as the Naruto's wrapped their arms around them

"Good morning Anko-hime, Kureani-tenshi" he said, making both the girls blush at being called such things, he then reached over and took out the gifts he had brought them, first he placed a small box in front of Anko, who reached over to it, looking at him questioningly, he nodded and she opened it shakily, and gasped when she saw the pendent. Her eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and gave him probably the best kiss he had yet experienced in his life. She then pulled away and put it on gently. Kureani leaned over, and she too gasped at the beauty of the necklace. Naruto smiled gently when she turned her questioning eyes to him, and he produced another wrapped box, placing it in front of Kureani, when she opened it and saw the perfume and its name she gasped and practically shot over the table, the clone having dispersed itself after Kureani got up to look at Anko's gift, and glomped Naruto, giving him a kiss that, like Anko's, he would remember for the rest of his life. He then reached back into the bag, not missing the glances the girls shot each other, both wondering if he had indeed brought them both something else

"Here you go" Naruto said as he handed the kimono to Kureani who could only marvel at the quality and colouration of the material, Anko on the other hand was feeling quite awed with the device in her hand, having wanted one for quite some time. Both of the girls had tears in their eyes, and they both kissed him on his cheeks before snuggling up on both side of him. Naruto sighed and looked up, content, and wondering if this could or would last forever.

A week had passed since Tsunade's integration as the new Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi stepping down graciously, thankful to Naruto after Jiraiya's report that he had been the one to convince her to come back. Tsunade's first order of business had been to make it perfectly clear to the council that they were just that, a council, not the rulers of Konoha or anything of the sort.

Naruto had decided, quite wisely, against telling either of his girlfriends about his fight against Orochimaru and his right hand man Kabuto, and had also publicly threatened Jiraiya against peeking on either of his girlfriends, unless he wanted to lose his most precious thing in the world.

Now, Naruto was sitting at a bar, enjoying the slow, rhythmic music coming from the speakers as he slowly sipped at his sake, Jiraiya was sitting beside him both lost in their own thoughts until Jiraiya finally spoke

"Hey gaki?" he asked, Naruto just grunted in response, "how did you know about Tsunade's meeting with Orochimaru?" he asked the blonde, who sighed and tapped his ear

"Heard you talking about it, I didn't say anything because I wanted to unsettle her, and it worked" he replied and Jiraiya chuckled

"Your one scary ninja, you know that kid?" he asked him and Naruto smiled and shrugged off the praise

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say" he said, making the sannin chuckle as they both went back to their sake. After a few moments of silence, punctuated only by other people and the gentle pulsing music Jiraiya spoke again

"When are you going to ask them?" he said, watching Naruto's reaction out of the corner of his eye, the kid didn't even flinch, he just sighed and closed his eyes in silent contemplation

"I don't know, when things have calmed down I guess, the last thing I need is going out to war with those two on my mind, especially if my enemies were to know my relationship with them, and as all men know, women just can't keep quiet about that sort of thing" he explained, and Jiraiya chuckled and nodded in agreement with his last statement

"True" he responded, silence fell over the pair again like an old comforting blanket. But it was short lived, for no sooner had silence once more descended than Kiba burst into the bar with a wild look on his face

"Naruto!" he shouted upon noticing him, neither he nor Jiraiya even blinked at the sudden explosion of noise, the same couldn't be said about the bartender who'd dropped the glass he was polishing in shock. Naruto turned around with a bored expression

"Yo" he said simply, chucking down another dish of sake before pulling out some cash to pay for his drinks and the broken glass. He patted Jiraiya on the shoulder

"See you later Jiraiya-san" he said, the man nodded in response as Naruto walked over to Kiba who looked flushed from running rather hard

"Sasuke's left the village!" Kiba said before Naruto could ask what was wrong; he sighed heavily and motioned for Kiba to lead on, all the while thinking about the nasty things he was going to do to both the little prick and his sensei when he returned.

Kiba brought him to the gate where the others of the group were waiting, Neji, Shikamaru and Choji all stood ready and waiting for him. He walked up, putting on his jacket as he went; out of all of them he seemed to be the most relaxed; the others all seemed to be practically buzzing with anticipation for such a dangerous mission

"Alright, now that we're all here, here's the layout, Sasuke has left the village, now I know many of you don't know him personally, but as a fellow leaf ninja we have a duty to help him" Shikamaru said in his lazy tone of voice "now, I've been put in charge of this mission, although this will be my first time as the leader of a team so please point out any mistakes I make, alright?" he asked, looking around, they all looked ready "aright then, let's go" he said and with that the group leaped off into the trees.

A few minutes later and Naruto spoke

"Neji and Kiba, you two go at the front of the pack, Kiba can sniff out explosives and the like along with tracking the enemy, Neji can look out for any traps, alright?" he asked and the two people nodded and leapt forth to take the lead at the head of the pack, they were travelling in a loose arrow formation.

As they drew forth they began to encounter more and more traps, eventually Kiba stopped

"They've stopped to rest, looks like they think we're too weak to take them" he growled, Naruto put a halting hand on his shoulder

"They may think that Kiba-san, but please, we must think of a plan first, alright?"He asked Kiba, who calmed himself and nodded, Naruto drew them all around and began to speak

"Okay, here's the plan, first of all I'll send in a shadow clone to trigger off one of the traps, thinking that we're dead they won't be prepared for our next strike. Shikamaru, you bind as many as you can with your shadow, Choji, try and take out as many of them with your families techniques once that's taken care of, the rest of us will be standing by for backup, although keep in minds this is only a basic outline, do not, I repeat, _do not_ engage your target if you will die, okay?" he said, they all nodded, completely serious, Naruto stood up and put his hand in the centre of the group, the rest followed suit

"Alright then me, stay strong and stay safe, let's do this!" he growled and a resounding 'yeah!' from the group later they started the plan.

It was going well, the clones had worked and the group of sound ninja's appeared more relaxed than usual, Naruto had slowed the group to a crawl as they approached, he was wondering whether or not to tell the group about what one of his clones had seen, namely the group, and the fact they were the sound four. He tapped his radio

"Listen people, we might have a slight problem, the group that have Sasuke are all extremely powerful A-class ninja's belonging to Orochimaru's bodyguard squad, I am changing the priorities of this mission with the leaders consent" he said and waited

"Go ahead" the voice of Shikamaru said and Naruto nodded

"Priorities are now as follows; if unable to complete the recovery of one Uchiha Sasuke, you are to destroy, repeat, destroy him and his eyes. If faced with overwhelming odds, flee, I repeat again, flee, do not try to be a hero, I am the strongest here and as such, if I give the order, I will be the one to hold them off while you return for reinforcements" he told the group and was greeted by a empty silence

"All clear?" he asked and a chorus of 'yeses' followed, he sighed

"Okay then, time to begin part two of the plan" he said as everyone got into position

It was silent, no birds were singing, only the barely audible breathing of Naruto could be heard through the mikes of the group as they readied themselves

"Go!" Naruto growled into the headset and listened as Shikamaru whispered his technique, he watched with cold eyes as the technique reached his targets, Naruto had not ordered him to hold off fully initialising it until it was necessary, since there was no way he'd be able to hold his technique if all of them tried to break it at once.

"Go Choji" he said, and he watched the sound ninja's faces as Choji's gigantic fist came out of the trees, all but one managed to jump away, Shikamaru unable to keep them there, instead, focusing on keeping the big one in position as Choji's fist struck him. Naruto watched as the man blocked it but was sent a good three metres back, Naruto gritted his teeth and prepared his technique

"Move Choji!" he shouted, not caring for silence now their cover was blown, Choji's hand swiftly retracted as Naruto let the rasengan go , watching with satisfaction as it struck the guy in the face and exploded, sending him into a rather solid looking tree. Naruto ordered the others to attack as he vanished into the darkness of the surrounding trees.

Naruto watched as him team leapt forth only to be captured by a large dome of solid earth; Naruto growled and prepared himself to strike at the right moment. The rest of the sound had left, taking the barrel with Sasuke in it, with them.

Naruto waited a few more moments before suddenly using a shushin to apparently teleport in front of the sound ninja, grunting as he thrust a rasengan into the man's gut, letting it go it picked him up and spun him rather painfully into a solid rock behind him

"Get out of their guys!" Naruto shouted at the dome, and watched as Kiba and Akamaru broke out of it with one of their family techniques, Naruto never bothered to learn the names, and quickly the team was back together. Suddenly Choji spoke up

"Let me take him" was all he said, Kiba looked at him like he was mad, but he was stopped from saying anything as Naruto put a hand on his shoulder, Naruto looked Choji dead in the eye

"Are you sure?" he asked in complete seriousness, receiving a nod in response he walked forward and grabbed Choji's hand with his own, putting his left hand on Choji's right shoulder he looked him dead in the eye

"Stay safe and stay strong, comrade" he said, patting him once on the shoulder he turned to face the others

"Let's go" he said, the look in his eye telling them all to trust him they all looked at each other and nodded, leaping away into the trees, Shikamaru cast one final look back at his friend as he turned to face his enemy.

They flew through the forest at breakneck speed after the remaining sound ninja's, Naruto transformed and leapt in front of them, looking just like the sound ninja they'd just left behind. He shot forward, easily catching up with the three ninja

"Jirobo you fat-ass, where have you been!?" Tayuya shouted at him, he turned to her

"Ladies shouldn't use such foul language" he growled back at her "and those Konoha brats had more chakra than I thought" he growled at her, she looked at him suspiciously but seemed to buy the ploy and kept going forwards with the rest of the group.

The Konoha ninja's were holding back a way, not wanting to be discovered as they watched Naruto play his part perfectly and the sound ninja's buy it.

A little ways further however, and Tayuya suddenly span round, trying to thrust a kunai in-between Naruto's ribs, Naruto allowed the illusion to drop as he caught her wrist

"Damn, not enough information "Naruto said to himself as he rammed a rasengan into Tayuya's chest, sending her back into a tree, the one that had been carrying the barrel, the one with many arms, tossed it over to Tayuya who was only just getting up, she went to shout something at him, only to notice the serious look on his face, a strange look on his face to be sure

"Go, both of you, this here is the Uzumaki Naruto Orochimaru-Sama warned us about" at that Tayuya took another look at the blonde, only to gasp as she realised the guy was right

"Don't die dumbass" was all she said as she shot off into the trees followed by the last sound ninja. Naruto watched as the many armed thing took up position in a tree and began to spew what looked like golden silk from its mouth, crafting itself an arrow, it shot it down at Naruto who didn't even flinch as his team arrived. He waved his hand and the arrow wobbled and struck the ground suddenly, Naruto grabbed it and examined it, watching as it fell to pieces in his hand

"Chakra strings" he muttered, Neji heard him and walked forward to stand before him, like a soldier in front of a respected commander

"I will stand and fight here, Naruto-san, you and the others move on ahead" Neji said, Naruto looked at him and nodded, gripping his hand like he had Choji he placed his left hand on Neji's right shoulder and looked him dead in the eye

"Stay strong and stay safe comrade, and don't try to be a hero" he said, Neji nodded

"Go" was all he said and the remains of the unit shot off into the forest as Neji took up a stance before his opponent.

Further on and another, unexpected thing, had happened to the remains of the sound team, they had met up with their former leader, he had taken the barrel while the other two stood ready to stop the Konoha ninja's from advancing. Naruto suddenly shot out of the trees landed in front od them, followed swiftly by the rest of his team

"Die" a voice shouted and Naruto turned to watch as one of the sound ninja rushed towards him, before Naruto could move Kiba had leapt forwards and tackled the bastard off of the cliff they were standing on

"Bastard better not die" Naruto growled and he felt a hand on his shoulder

"It's troublesome, but I'll fight the girl, you catch up with Sasuke" Shikamaru told Naruto who put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and squeezed

"Stay strong and stay safe comrade, I'll complete this mission, so don't worry about it" he told the lazy Chunin who nodded and Naruto shot off into the dense foliage, now more determined than ever to beat Sasuke to a pulp.

Naruto arrived out in an open field

"Stop!" he growled and the pale man carrying the barrel stopped, turning his head he grunted and put the barrel down

"Uzumaki Naruto" the man said emotionlessly "my master wants you dead" he said as he suddenly shot forwards at a speed Naruto had rarely fought against

"So do a lot of people, but it isn't going to happen anytime soon" Naruto replied and pushed both palms forwards, the pale man couldn't dodge and was struck full force by the air bullets, sending his sprawling backwards

"Let's dance" Naruto growled as he started to send air bullet after air bullet towards Kimimaro who, despite his tremendous speed, couldn't dodge them all. Naruto halted after a few minutes and looked on coldly as Kimimaro lifted himself back up, completely unharmed

"Hmm, you can manipulate you bones, strange, I thought your clan was dead" was all Naruto said before he shot forwards, skilfully dodging the bone tips fired his way, before slamming his hands towards the man as they engaged in a vicious hand-to-hand dance that would of left most spectators in shock at the sheer speed of their movements.

Eventually Naruto landed a solid hit that sent Kimimaro stumbling backwards, suddenly a vile chakra began to leak from the barrel, it suddenly exploded forcing Naruto and Kimimaro to jump away from it, and there stood Sasuke in his second stage form, he took one look at Naruto, sneered and leapt away into the trees. Naruto went to jump after him but was prevented from progressing any further by Kimimaro blocking his way. He was about to reengage the man in mortal combat, but was prevented from doing so when he saw Lee arrive and kick the pale man straight in the face

"Rock Lee reporting for duty" the over hyper Taijutsu master cried, obviously drunk, Naruto shot off

"Take care of him Lee!" he shouted as he leapt after Sasuke, not looking back once as Lee began his fight with the pale man.

Naruto caught up with the Uchiha traitor just as he crossed the river, the location of the greatest battle ever in the history of Konoha, save for the Kyuubi of course.

"Stop, Uchiha Sasuke!" Naruto shouted at the running figure, who stopped and turned around, Naruto sneered at the transformation as Sasuke laughed

"I feel so powerful, I feel amazing!" he shouted, but then the transformation receded and he grinned viciously at Naruto, who suddenly realized that Kakashi had withheld possible vital information from him and his team, he growled as his list of reasons for beating the man half to death and then finding a way to hand him over to Death himself grew in his mind. He turned to Sasuke who was looking at his hand in amazement

"This is it, the power I need to beat him" he looked up at Naruto "and you" he hissed, Naruto grinned madly

"Really?" he asked "you are still weak Sasuke" he said holding out his hands as his bangs covered his eyes in shadow "not all the power in the world is going to change that, you would go to someone else for power, you would become like your brother for revenge" he said, and he watched as Sasuke began to grow more and more irritated "your brother became powerful by himself, I became powerful by myself, all of my friends became powerful through their own will!" he shouted as the wind began to rapidly pick up speed around him "you, my dear Sasuke-chan, are weak beyond belief!" he growled and Sasuke snapped

"Shut up!" he roared as the cursed seal activated "what do you know about sadness or loneliness, you, who's never had to experience loss!" he roared and Naruto laughed as Sasuke charged up a chidori

"My dearest Sasuke-chan, I know of loneliness and I know of pain, I know more than you can ever imagine" he said as Sasuke roared and launched himself towards him

"But yet, that does not excuse you from betraying Konoha, the place where your brother grew strong, and the place we would call home" he growled at the incoming Sasuke, he grabbed the boy's wrist and slammed the chidori into the ground

"Die!" he roared and punched him as hard as he could, sending him down into the water at quite a speed, he slammed into it but managed not to fall in, Naruto grinned manically again and charged up a rasengan, he allowed himself to fall off the cliff, he ran down the side a way before pushing off of it, leaving a dent in the statue where the force of the chakra jump caused the stone to partially implode on itself, he hurtled down towards Sasuke at an unbelievable speed, impacting the water the rasengan exploded, Sasuke only just managed to get out of the blasts radius, watching as Naruto, using his other hand, spun round and flipped round, striking Sasuke with a harsh kick to the midsection that had the young sharingan user coughing up blood, sending him into the valley wall. He picked himself up and flipped through hand-signs, he breathed out and a gigantic stream of fire shot out of his mouth and hurtled towards Naruto, who didn't even blink in fear or shock. Instead he braced himself on the water, his legs apart and his hands out and began to roar as blue chakra started to leak off of him, Sasuke watched in shock as a giant vortex of wind formed around Naruto, absorbing the fire and increasing its strength many times over as it hurtled up towards the sky. Naruto stood in the middle, sweating as he flexed his control of his chakra and brought his hands together, slowly, and pushed forwards slightly, Sasuke could only gasp in awe as the top part seemed to collapse on itself partially, forming a sort of spike, it suddenly shot forwards at an astonishing speed, hurtling towards the Uchiha, who barely had enough time to go into his transformed second state and take to the skies as the firestorm superheated the water he'd just been standing on, causing it to explode spontaneously and release superheated steam. He looked over to Naruto and was shocked to find him standing there, only slightly out of breath and with a rasengan already in his hand and poised to launch at Sasuke

"Die you damned cockroach!" Naruto shouted, throwing the ball of violently swirling energy with enough to speed that it punched through one of Sasuke's newly formed wings before he could get out of the way, Sasuke managed to land on the middle of the statue of Mandra, on top of the fingers. Naruto leaped up the statue of the first Hokage so they were at the same height, then Naruto began to craft another rasengan and Sasuke questioned himself as to just how many of those thing Naruto could make, hell, even with the sharingan he couldn't capture the chaotic nature of the ball, he gasped as it suddenly began to spin faster and faster, shaking in Naruto's hand as he grinned excitedly at Sasuke on more time

"Time to die" he growled leaning down, the ball of energy beginning to pick up material now as the winds around it started to grow stronger and stronger, Sasuke created a chidori and shot off of his perch, determined to kill Naruto before he could do anything else, but it was not to be, Naruto suddenly pushed off of his perch with such force that it shattered the part of the statue he'd been sitting upon and sent him hurtling at Sasuke at speeds to fast to follow, but somehow their attacks still met. A black energy engulfed the area, Sasuke was struggling to hold his attack together when he notice the attack in Naruto's hand begin to rapidly destabilise, he looked at Naruto's grinning face

"Boom" was all he said as suddenly the ball in his hand detonated, sending Sasuke slamming into the statue of Mandra, Naruto managed to brace himself for the impact and managed to jump back off of the statue of the first Hokage and catch Sasuke before he struck the ground and died.

Naruto put him over one shoulder and, after popping a soldier pill, began to walk back to Konoha. Meeting Kakashi on the way there he gave the unconscious boy to the jonin and told him that he'd be speaking to the Hokage about the fat he'd been withholding information vital to both the village and the mission, Kakashi had gulped in fear, and told Naruto that all of his 'comrades' were safely back in the village and that Tsunade was looking over them. Naruto has said nothing but had increased his pace dramatically, almost leaving Kakashi behind.

Naruto's first priority was to see that his comrades were safe, despite the nagging voice in his skull that told him to find his girlfriend's and inform them that he was fine to keep them from worrying, but he shoved it aside, right now he had people to see and an Hokage to talk to.

He had arrived in the hospital to find Shikamaru sitting outside of Choji's room, his head in his one good hand, his other one having a broken finger on it. Naruto sat beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder

"How is he?" he asked and Shikamaru shook his head

"He's fine, but I-I just feel..." he trailed off, Naruto nodded in understanding

"I know, you feel like you could have done better, but listen to me" he said, getting Shikamaru to look at him, unshed tears in his eyes "you couldn't have done any better, you were all inexperienced and not used to real battle situations and we had no real idea what we were all going up against, nobody died and we completed the mission, there's really no better outcome for a situation like we were in" he told the lazy shadow user, who smiled gratefully at Naruto

"Cheers Naruto, that...that helps a lot to hear that from you" he said and Naruto smiled at him, patting him once more on the shoulder he walked into Choji's room, a single nurse was tending to his chart, as soon as she saw him she vanished out of the room. Choji cracked an eye open and looked up at Naruto who was standing beside his bed

"Hey captain" he chuckled weakly, Naruto chuckled back

"Good work Choji, I'm glad to see you and everyone else is alive, you did Konoha, your family and me proud, well done" he told the rather skinny and poorly looking Choji who smiled as much as he could at those words

"Cheers" he muttered. His eyes closing, Naruto could tell he was struggling to stay awake, so he put a reassuring hand on Choji's shoulder and squeezed gently

"Rest up and get well again, you've done well today" he told the boy who briefly smiled once more before falling back into unconsciousness. Naruto exited the room and shut the door quietly; throwing a reassuring look towards the still slightly worried Shikamaru he turned as began to walk towards Kiba's room.

He arrived to find his sister, Hana, tending to Akamaru's wounds, Naruto strode in and took stock of Kiba's and Akamaru's conditions, he turned to Kiba first and walked over to stand beside his bed

"Alright man?" Kiba chuckled out, Naruto smiled at him

"Very good work today Kiba-san, you really pulled through, we finished the mission and no one died, that's all that matters, you've made your clan and Konoha proud today" he said, putting a strong hand on Kiba's shoulder and squeezed gently, Kiba looked up at him with a tear in his eye

"Cheers man; that means a lot coming from you for some reason" he said and Naruto smiled at him, looking over at Hana as she stood up, he looked at her seriously

"How will he be?" he asked and Hana smiled

"He'll be fine in a few weeks with plenty of rest" she then looked at him questioningly "why do you care so much?" she asked him and Naruto looked her dead in the eye, completely serious

"I care for my comrades Hana-san, _all_ of them" he told her and she smiled

"That's quite rare" she told him and he smiled

"I'll take that a complement, so thank you" he said bowing to her slightly, he turned to Kiba

"Take your time resting up, you and all the others deserve it" he said as he walked out, just hearing Kiba's response of

"Yes captain" before he was out of ear shot, heading towards the worst off of them all, Neji. He arrived and knocked on the door, hearing a muffled 'come in' he walked into the room to find a paler than usual Neji looking at him with respect in his eyes, the same as the others, Tsunade was also there, watching him as he walked over to Neji and smiled down at him

"Very good work today Neji, I will tell you the same thing I told the others, you've done your clan, me and Konoha proud this day" he told the prodigy who smiled weakly

"You get some rest now, I'll take care of the rest" he told the boy who nodded and fell asleep immediately after that was said. Naruto turned his attention to Tsunade

"I need to speak with you immediately about the mission" he told the sannin who nodded and they both walked out of the hospital.

Once in her office, Tsunade sat and turned to him, she looked extremely tired from having done so many operations in such a short space of time

"You look tired Tsunade-sama, so I shall be brief, it came to my attention during the mission that Kakashi-san had been withholding information from myself and my teammates regarding the Uchiha's curse seal" he said, and Tsunade narrowed her eyes

"Very well, I'll take your word for it and have him brought before me tomorrow, what about Sakura?" she asked and Naruto nodded "very well, is that all?" she asked and he nodded, and then smiled, pulling out a bottle of sake and placing it in front of Tsunade

"Take a break Tsunade-hime, you need it" he said as Tsunade looked up at him like a believer would look up at Kami herself before he vanished in a burst of speed.

Naruto was exhausted having not taken a moment to rest himself since he'd arrived back at the village with Sasuke. He suddenly heard two people running towards him and turned round only to be suddenly tackled to the ground by an overjoyed Anko and Kureani who began to smother him in kisses. Eventually they stopped and stood up above him, looking none too pleased as he picked himself up

"So?" Anko asked him, looking angry, Naruto noticed she was wearing the gift he'd gotten her, and he sniffed the air realising Kurenai was wearing the scent he'd gotten her

"So?" he replied, sounding as tired as he was, his response only riled the girls up further

"So..." Kureani ground out "where were you?" she asked and he sighed

"I was checking up on my soldiers, who, for your information, have all come back with serious injuries save for one" he said and the girls anger seemed to lessen but not dissipate

"Why couldn't you of checked on us beforehand then?" Anko demanded, Naruto sighed again

"My comrades conditions were more important at that moment in time, I had a responsibility to check up on them" he explained and the girls grew calmer at the explanation, Naruto yawned loudly "now can I please go home?" he asked sounding completely wiped out "I'm exhausted" he said, the girls smiled at each other and, picking him up, vanished with him to Anko's apartment and fell asleep next to him, needless to say, Naruto had a very good night's sleep.

The next day the sky was overcast and gray, the rain just waiting to fall. Naruto was standing to the side of the Hokage, in front of her stood Kakashi and an upset looking Sakura

"Naruto has brought it to my attention" the Hokage began "that you both withheld vital information from him" she said, Kakashi spoke as Sakura just looked down at the floor guiltily

"I really don't see what I did wrong, Naruto still completed the mission and no one died, no harm no foul" Kakashi said, Tsunade was about to retort when Naruto held up a hand, halting her

"Well then Kakashi, if I had been held up, and one of my other teammates had gone after Sasuke and died, what would have happened then?" he asked, Kakashi just looked at him, bored

"But it didn't" he retorted, Naruto sighed "what's your excuse, Sakura-san" he asked, she looked up at him, her eyes holding tears

"I-I asked K-Kakashi-sensei, a-and he t-t-told me not t-to tell y-you" she stuttered out, nearly breaking down into tears, Naruto walked towards her, she flinched back, expecting him to hit her, instead he hugged her, she gasped in shock and tears began to roll down her face

"It's alright Sakura, you didn't do anything wrong, you did what any good soldier would do, followed orders" he said and she broke down, crying in his arms. He turned to Kakashi

"That proves it Kakashi-san, not only did you effectively place a number of Konoha ninja in danger but you also gave you subordinate a completely unjustifiable order" he told him, Kakashi scoffed and turn to face an angry Tsunade

"That's it Kakashi, I am officially taking you off of the on duty list of ninja and am giving you six months of nothing but D-ranks" she said, stamping the paper she looked back up at his shock eye

"Now get out before I let Naruto there kill you" she growled and Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves, not looking happy.

Sakura had stopped crying and was rubbing her eyes, Naruto let go of her and turned to Tsunade

"I think you should take Sakura here on as an apprentice" he suddenly told the sannin who looked slightly shocked at that sudden request, as was Sakura

"You sure she's ready gaki?" she asked, Sakura opened her mouth to retort but Naruto stopped her

"I guarantee you" he growled and Tsunade grinned

"Fine then gaki, girl" she said, getting Sakura's attention "you better be ready for hell, I won't go easy on you" she told the pink haired girl who grinned like a maniac and nodded, grabbing Naruto in a tight hug and thanking him profusely before running off to go rub it in Ino's face. Naruto smiled and, bowing to Tsunade, disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

A few hours later and he was back again, only this time he was inside of the council chambers and Tsunade was talking

"During the recent mission to recover Uchiha Sasuke, which was to be led by Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto showed signs of great leadership, I have already spoken to the other members of the mission and gathered their statements, they are in front of you now" she said as the council members looked through the statements, suddenly Hiashi raised a hand, Tsunade nodded and he stood, looking at Naruto who was standing at ease in the middle of the chamber, head held high, an air of defiance around him

"Uzumaki-san, it says here, according to all of the statements, that just before you attempted to attack the enemy you issued a priority change, is that correct?" Naruto nodded "what exactly did you change those priorities too then?" he asked and Naruto sighed, already seeing where this was going

"I stated, that if we deemed it highly unlikely we would be able to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha, that we were to kill him and destroy his eyes instead" he stated, and some of the members gasped in shock at that

"You also gave your men the order that, if they deemed the success of the mission highly improbable, they were to run and you would cover their retreat, is that correct?" he asked, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man

"Silence yourself Hiashi, I will not have you speak ill of me or my men, I gave that order because I valued my men's lives over that of one stupid weak Uchiha's "he growled out, startling some of the council, Hiashi bristled

"How dare you..." he started only to be cut off by Naruto

"Easily you scum; I took over leadership of that mission due to the fact that I deemed it necessary since I had the greater experience dealing with mission of that level of difficulty, I gave those orders due to fact I didn't have enough information to make a justified opinion and I erred onto the safe side of caution, I deemed that Orochimaru must not receive the Uchiha's eyes no matter what, I gave the order for retreat and for me to protect them due to that fact I deemed myself to be of a higher level in both power and experience over my fellow soldiers, now..." he said turning to the Hokage "if that is all, I would like to return to my soldiers to see how they are coming along and anyway" he said, glaring coldly at Hiashi "I believe I have said all that I need to" he said and Tsunade nodded

"Very well Uzumaki-san, you may leave" she said and with that, he vanished in a swirl of leaves, she then turned to the council

"Let's get one thing straight, I don't care what you stupid fucks say, I am going to promote that boy, and you can't do anything about it am I clear?" she asked harshly, most of the council grumbled, but those whose children had been on the mission, nodded clearly, having listened to how well Naruto had done on the mission, and how he had been willing to sacrifice his life for them, including how their children had spoken about him with respect in their voices, they had gained quite a bit of respect for the boy. Tsunade had been most surprised to find though, that on the civilian council, Sakura's mother, probably one the most influential people on it, had apparently heard what the boy had done for her daughter and her attitude towards him had done a complete flip, she now openly supported him, leading many others to follow her example, like sheep.

It was almost a week later when it was announced; Naruto stood up on stage, and accepted the Chunin flak jacket with a bow and a grateful smile, as he put it on his friends, and a large part of the village who had heard of his role in the mission bring back their precious Uchiha, cheered loudly for him, he waved and thanked them and then stepped down from the platform and walked towards Kureani and Anko, they watched as he stopped before them and produced two identical dark blue boxes, their breaths caught and tears blurred their eyes as Naruto opened the boxes to reveal two beautiful rings that shone beautifully in the mid afternoon light, Anko's was a dark green emerald and Kureani's was a dark almost blood red ruby, he sunk to one knee, many of the female populous were close to tears at what was occurring, and quite a few of the men admired the courage the kid had to do this in front of the whole of Konoha

"Kureani-hime, Anko-hime, would you, my two most important people in the whole world, do me the greatest honour, and marry me?" he asked, the girls had tears running down their faces as they kissed him wholeheartedly, once they pulled away he slipped the rings onto their fingers and embraced them, Konoha cheered.

After that rather touching show, Shikamaru and Choji had met up with Ino in their training ground

"Can you believe it?" Ino said irritably "Naruto got Chunin and no one else, that's so unfair!" she whined, Shikamaru turned to her, a cold look on his usually lazy face

"Ino, shut up" he growled, startling her with his bluntness, she looked at Choji who also held the same look on his face

"I won't have you disrespecting Naruto-san because of petty jealousy, if you ask me he should of been promoted to jonin, he's done enough to deserve it, he saved Sarutobi-sama, defeated Garaa before he could damage Konoha, brought back Tsunade-sama, and kept us all alive during the mission, he even visited us every day afterwards to make sure we were alright" he said, taking a deep breath, he locked eyes with her and what she saw there was something she'd never forget and would wonder about for a good while after the meeting, complete and utter respect and trust for a person, Shikamaru then spoke

"Some commanders never earn your respect" he said "but from the moment he took control, the moment he opened his mouth, hell, the moment I saw him on that mission, he had mine and everyone else's complete and utter respect" he said and with that him and Choji began to walk away, before he left he turned to her once more "please think about it Ino-san, I would hate to lose our friendship over something as pointless as jealousy" and with that said he and Choji turned and walked away, leaving Ino to think about what she'd just heard.

Later on that day, in a bar with his friends, Naruto received pats on the back and congratulations from them all. He sat at a table with those from the mission to retrieve Sasuke, now that they were all out of hospital, and stood up, holding his glass high

"I would like to offer a toast" he started, getting their attention "to all of you who did your clans, your families, me and Konoha proud" he said and the others all cheered for that. Shikamaru then stood up, surprisingly, and held up his own glass

"It's troublesome, but I would also like to offer a toast, to the one who got us all through that mission and who helped all of us out afterwards, a true leader, commander and friend, Uzumaki Naruto" he said and a massive cheer rose up from the table, Naruto just smiled sheepishly and took it in his stride, laughing along with rest of his friends though out the night.

Later that night though, he found himself sitting next to a slightly drunk Kiba

"Kiba-san?" he asked

"Huh?" Kiba responded intelligently

"I've been meaning to ask you, but on that mission, when that guy attacked me, why'd you tackle him off of the cliff we were on?" he asked curiously, Kiba seemed to think on it for a while

"I don't know, I think it's like the reason we all respect you so much as a commander" he said, then he looked away, looking slightly sheepish "it's like you were part of my pack" he said, Naruto laughed good naturedly and flung his arm around Kiba's shoulder

"Good to hear, now, more sake!" he shouted amongst loud cheers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yo people, sorry about the really slow update, been a bit stuck for ideas and bogged down in work for a while. Anyway, keep the reviews coming; I really appreciate them, oh yeah, and tell me if I made any mistakes so I can fix them, cheers.


End file.
